Shaman King: The Shadow King
by Rosimae
Summary: Takes place after the anime. When the shaman fight begins again, Yoh and company make new friends and face an evil far greater than anything they have come up against before. YohAnna, HaoOC
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly I don't own Shaman King or any of the characters in the actual manga/anime. I can, however, claim credit for Ayamae and the Shadow King (both of whom you will meet in the story)! =^-^=

Takes place after the anime (sorry, I haven't read the manga, so this is my take on things)

**Anna's Friend**

Shamans around the world turned their eyes up to watch the star as it shot across the sky. The shaman fight would soon begin again.

Yoh turned to look at his oracle bell as it beeped at him. Picking it up, he read the new message with some surprise. The shaman fight would not begin for another two months. In that time it said for the shamans to prepare and get ready for it. Anna, looking over Yoh's shoulder, got an evil glint in her eyes.

"Says it right there, Yoh. Enough slacking off. Its time to start my super secret training."

Ren, Faust, and Manta, who had also been looking over Yoh's shoulder paled as they heard about this new training session.

"After you boys are done cleaning the kitchen, you better go to bed and rest up, you'll need all the strength you can get," Anna said, walking out of the room and into the room with the tv. Yoh, Ren, Faust, and Manta heard the tv turn on. Turning to talk to each other and discuss this new development, they heard an angry voice shout "Now!" at them, and instead of talking, they turned and hurried to comply.

***

Over the course of the next few days, Yoh's other friends began showing up at the hotel until everyone was there, including Chocolove and Lyszerg. For the most part they kept to themselves however, trying not to incur Anna's wrath and have to join Yoh in his torture, err, training.

After a very vigorous day of training for Yoh, and poor Horohoro who couldn't escape his sister, the group of shamans collapsed onto their beds, ready for a good nights rest.

The next day, Anna was unusually kind, letting Yoh off the hook early that day. At dinner, she was quite, but Yoh could sense, even thru her mask of ice, that she was excited and nervous.

Halfway thru dinner a knock came at the door. Everyone flinched, knowing that Anna didn't like dinner being interrupted and fearing for the person at the door. Yoh stood up, going to get the door, but was shocked to see Anna already heading towards the door.

"Umm…Anna?" Yoh said, hesitating.

"Just sit down and eat, Yoh," Anna said without turning around. This, of course, perked everyone's interest, and soon Yoh, Ren, Horohoro, Faust (with Eliza), Ryu, Lyszerg, Chocolove, Manta, Pirika, Tamao, and even Jun (with Li BaiLong), were peering around the corner as Anna opened the front door.

"Anna-chan! It's sooo good to see you! How long has it been now? Five, no six years? Far too long," a silvery voice cried as Anna and the visitor embraced in a friendly hug.

"Aya-chan! I'm so happy to see you. Yeah, it's been a long time," Anna said, a smile detected even in her voice. Everyone turned to stare at each other, shocked.

Horohoro poked Yoh. "Hey," he whispered. "Do you know who she is?" Every eye of the hiding individuals turned to Yoh, who shook his head, completely bewildered. Then they turned their eyes back to the front door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the new person. When they did face the door, every one of them paled, and gulped.

My first chapter, Yay! Hope you like it. Sorry if some of the characters seem out of character...


	2. Chapter 2

Yay! My second chapter. This one is kinda boring cause everyone is just introducing themselves. I tried to remain on character, but, who knows. Enjoy!

Once again, I don't own Shaman King (sigh).

**Introductions**

Their eyes were met with Anna's cold dark ones, giving them the death glare. Their gazes traveled over to Anna's friend, and found an equally scary glare underneath the hood of a cloak.

Anna's bark made them all jump. "And just WHAT do you think you all are doing? I thought I told you to stay and finish dinner!" Sharing guilty glances, the group turned to head back to the kitchen. "And where do you think you are going? It's rude not to introduce yourself and welcome a guest. Now that you are done with dinner, come introduce yourself." Anna glanced at each of them, then sharing a look with her friend, they walked into the next room.

The others gave nervous glances to each other, then followed Anna and her friend. Anna's friend set down the duffle bag she was carrying and pulled off her cloak, shaking out her silvery black hair so that it fell down to the small of her back. She was wearing brown leather boots with a bit of a heel, a brown skirt that came to her knees, and a blue t-shirt.

"Aya-chan, why, the last time I saw you, you had your hair shorter than mine. Look how long its grown," Anna exclaimed. The others turned to each other, Anna was acting quite different from her normal self.

"I know," her friend, Aya, replied, running her hands thru the silky strands. "It can be quite bothersome some times, but, well," she shrugged, letting her thoughts trail off as her startlingly turquoise eyes gazed at the group before her. Finally, her eyes came to rest on Yoh, and her face registered some shock on her smooth features. She quickly hid this under a small smile and said, "And this must be you fiancé, right, Anna?" Anna nodded as they both shared a look that only girls can ever truly understand.

Anna then turned back to the group. "Well, we don't want to wait all night, introduce yourselves already."

They all glanced around at one another, not sure who should start. A silvery laugh sounded and they looked up to see an amused smile on Anna's friend's face. "Maybe I should introduce myself first. Perhaps that would put them at ease." Then she stepped forward an gave a small curtsy. "My name is Ayamae Kinomori, pleased to meet you."

Yoh smiled, relaxing just a bit. "I'm Yoh Asakura," then he saw Ayamae's glance behind him. "Oh, and this is Amidamaru, my guardian spirit."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Amidamaru said, inclining his head slightly. Ayamae smiled and returned the gesture.

"I'm Ren Tao, and this is my spirit Bason," Ren said, pointing to his guardian spirit who was also floating behind him.

"And I'm Ren's sister, Jun Tao. It's a pleasure to meet a friend of Anna-chan's," Jun said, smiling warmly. Ayamae returned the smile, her eyes traveling to the man standing next to Jun. "Oh, and this is Li BaiLong," Jun continued.

"Nice to meet both of you. It's not often I come across another person who can call Anna Anna-chan." Ayamae and Jun both smiled at this.

Horohoro cleared his throat and met Ayamae's gaze. "I'm Horohoro, and this is my sister Pirika, and my guardian spirit, Kororo." Pirika gave a little nod as Kororo spun a little in the air.

"I'm Ryu of the wooden sword," Ryu said, his hair bouncing into a heart shape, he lunged forward with a bouquet of flowers. "Would you go out with me?"

Ayamae graced him with a withering look, and suddenly, the petals on the flowers were blown off. "Thanks for the offer, but I have someone already," Ayamae said, her voice a little icy, but also amused. Studying her, Yoh thought he caught just a hint a sadness in this statement as well.

Ryu turned gray, shock written all over him. "Of course, he would forget to introduce me in his rush to impress a beautiful woman, I'm Tokagero, a pleasure to meet you," Ryu's spirit said, giving a little bow.

"A pea for sure in meeting you!" Chocolove burst out. Everyone sighed, shaking their heads and sweat dropping. Ayamae looked a little confused. "I'm Chocolove McDainel, and I'm going to be the greatest comedian of all time," Chocolove finished, smiling.

Ayamae smiled. "Is that so," she said, one eyebrow twitching up.

Chocolove nodded. "And this is my spirit, Mic Jaguar."

Ayamae then turned to the doctor with the nurse by his side. "I am Faust the VIII, and this is my wife, Eliza! Isn't she beautiful?"

Ayamae smiled and nodded.

A tinkling sound turned attention to the last fully fledged shaman of the group. "My name is Lyserg Diethel, and this is my spirit, Morphine."

Ayamae's gaze continued down the row, and down towards the floor. "You're really short," she commented.

Manta blushed and scowled and Ayamae giggled. "I'm Manta Oyamada."

Ayamae turned to the last member of the group, a young, pink haired girl. "And you are?"

"Um, I'm Tamao, Tamao Tamamura, and these are my spirits, Ponchi and Konchi," Tamao said in a big rush, blushing fiercely.

Ayamae turned to Anna and raised an eyebrow. "Those two are the really annoying ones, right?"

Anna nodded, and Ponchi and Conchi, who had been looking so pleased at being introduced, blanched and backed up again.

Ayamae turned back to the group. "Well, it's nice to meet all of you," she said, eyeing the shamans of the group. "Now, go clean the kitchen and leave me and Anna-chan to catch up."

"Hey, who are you to…to……" Horohoro trailed off at the look on Aya's and Anna's faces. Quickly, everyone went about their business, leaving the two 'ice queens' to catch up with each other.

***

Author's note: If you don't know how to pronounce Ayamae, just watch Kenshin! (She's one of the little girls that Kenshin plays with all the time, one of Dr. Gensi's granddaughters!)


	3. Chapter 3

I'm just excited to finally be able to get this all down, so here's the third chapter!

Once again - I don't own Shaman King only Ayamae

**A Shocking Revelation**

"So," Anna said, after making sure there were no eavesdroppers, then finding themselves comfortable places to sit. "You said you had something very important to talk to me about. So let's skip the formalities and you could explain things to me."

Ayamae smiled. "You never were one for small talk," she said, then sighed. "Yes, I come bringing news, not all of it good either." Ayamae shifted uncomfortably.

Anna noticed how nervous and uncomfortable her friend looked, now that it came down to talking to each other. "Hey, Aya, whatever you have to say, it's okay. We're friends, remember?"

Ayamae nodded, then took a deep breath. "Okay then, I think I'll start with what I learned about myself, and I don't know how much you're going to like this, but, please, just hear me out."

Anna nodded, wondering what could be bothering her best friend so much.

"After I moved away, and you got engaged to Yoh, I did a lot of searching to find out who I really was, but I always tried to keep tabs on you. I learned of your adventures and trials with Yoh's twin Hao, and I worried about all of you, but it seems that Yoh was able to stop Hao from obtaining the Great Spirits. It was when Yoh injured Hao, and defeated the Spirit of Fire, that I realized who I truly was."

"Wait," Anna said, interrupting the story. "I thought that Yoh ended up killing Hao."

Ayamae shook her head, flinching slightly at that statement. "No, Yoh did not kill Hao, just injured him. Now before you ask, I have no idea where Hao is, although I wish I knew." Ayamae held up her hand. "Please, Anna-chan, let me finish, and hopefully all your questions will be answered."

Anna set her face, and then nodded.

"Like I said, in that moment when Hao was at his weakest, I was able to remember my past, and I'm not talking about my childhood past, I'm talking about a past a thousand years old. Yes," Ayamae continued, smiling slightly at the look that crossed Anna's usually free of emotions face. "I lived a thousand years ago, when Hao was first born. Anna, I was Hao's wife."

***

Hey, so that's my third chapter, hope you enjoyed it! Sorry it's so short!

Please Please Please Review!!!


	4. Chapter 4

(_I don't own Shaman King XP but I do own Ayamae!)_

**Ayamae's Story**

"WHAT!" Anna shouted, having a hard time keeping her voice down. Ayamae shushed her, trying to quiet her down. "Sorry," Anna said, much quieter this time. "What do you mean, Hao's wife?"

"Just what it sounds like, Anna. I was Hao's wife a thousand years ago."

"What, did he force you to marry him or something?" Anna snorted.

"No. Believe or not Anna, but Hao wasn't always as evil as he is today, and why he is that way is part of the story, so let me continue. So, I married Hao, a marriage that made us both the happiest people in the world. Hao was kind and gentle back then, always willing to help others with their problems, no matter who they were. Together, we studied the mysteries of the universe, and Hao's powers over the elements began to grow until he became the most powerful and sought after shaman the world had ever seen. I was so happy with him, and soon I was pregnant. We were so excited for the baby to come. However, as time wore on, and Hao's powers grew, the people began to fear and despise him, despite his kindness.

"When I was eight months pregnant, I became quite ill, the people, learning of this, decided now was the time to get rid of Hao. They came to him complaining of the powerful shikigamis that plagued the mountains and asking him to get rid of them. Hao was hesitant to leave me alone when I was so sick, but I insisted that he help the people to rid the mountains of those demons. So Hao followed the humans up the mountainside. It wasn't until after he had defeated the Shikigamis that Hao was able to read the humans true thoughts about him. That was his first hint that something was wrong.

"Meanwhile, shortly after Hao had left, more villagers came to the house. It was then that I realized my mistake in sending Hao to get rid of the demons, because I was unable to protect myself. The villagers attacked me, and that was the last thing I knew. Hao came back too late to save me, but he knew exactly who had done, having unlocked his powers of Reishi. It was then, I believe, that the Shadow King first got a hold of Hao's mind, twisting it to believe that humans are evil, and slowly insinuating the idea of an all shaman world."

"Wait," Anna interrupted. "Who is the Shadow King?"

Ayamae smiled, pleased to learn that Anna didn't hate her for her past. "I don't know a lot about him, but remember, when I had to move away with my family?" Anna nodded. "My family let me in on an ancient family legend. This legend is three thousand years old, and has been passed down the Kinomori line for generations. It tells of a shaman who became the shaman king, but he succumbed to his dark ambitions, and because of this, he almost destroyed the world. All the other shamans in the world gathered together and combining their powers, were able to stop this shaman and save the world, but at a great cost. Many shamans lost their lives, and they were only able to banish the shaman king to a different dimension. It is there that he is sealed away, and is now known only as the Shadow King, once a powerful Shaman King, who has now been sealed in shadow.

"I believe he got a hold upon Hao, who had become the strongest shaman since his time, after the tragedy, and slowly, as Hao continues to grow in power, I believe this Shadow King is also growing in power. The legend passes down a prophesy that states:

"_The shadows will begin to rise_

_As evil begins to grow in power._

_The Shadow King shall don a new guise_

_To reign in darkness once again._

_A group of friends who live in light,_

_Shall come together thru struggles and strife_

_And join forces to win the fight_

_To strengthen each other towards what's right_

_The one to banish the Shadow King will be reborn_

_But succumb to the darkness of their heart_

_Raising back to the light with the help of friends so sworn_

_For shadows can't hide from the eternal light._

"To continue with my explanations, I believe now is the time the Shadow King is rising. I also believe that Yoh and his friends are the group talked about in the prophesy."

Anna looked at her. "You really think this legend is true?" she asked. Ayamae nodded. "But," Anna said. "How can Yoh and his friends defeat this Shadow King? If all the shamans in the world three thousand years ago couldn't do it, how could that group of misfits possibly beat him? And what does Hao have to do with this?"

Ayamae smiled at the onslaught of questions. "I believe, well, I hope…" Ayamae hesitated a little. "Anna, what you have to understand is that all the feelings I had for Hao a thousand years ago came back to me as well as my memories…"

"So, you love Hao?" Anna asked, a little disgusted.

Ayamae nodded.

"But how?" Anna burst out.

"Think, Anna. If Yoh had joined Hao's cause, would you have abandoned him?"

"I wouldn't let him," Anna said, a steely glint in her eyes.

"Anna," Aya said patiently. "If he had joined Hao, would you have abandoned him? And even if you abandoned him, I can tell you love him a lot, even if you don't know how to show it very well. I believe you would still love him, no matter what."

Anna stared at Aya, and then nodded slowly. "I could never stop loving Yoh, no matter what."

"I feel the same way about Hao. Well, what I was saying before, was that I hoped Hao was part of the group of friends mentioned. It talks about one who is reborn again, but loses himself in darkness, but then finds the light with the help of friends. I was hoping that would be Hao, but if it isn't, then that means that Hao is the Shadow King in his 'new guise' in which case, we have to…destroy Hao." Ayamae said this last part very slowly, as if it hurt her to even think about it, but she continued on. "That's why I'm here. There were training methods also passed down with the legend. Training that the group will definitely need to defeat the Shadow King. Not only that, but I remember many things me and Hao learned about shamanic abilities long ago. I'm here to train them."

Anna nodded, studying her friend's face, she wondered how hard it would be to love someone, but know that you might have to destroy, or play a part in destroying, that person. She thought it must feel something like when Yoh was absorbed into Hao and she thought she lost him forever.

"Well, you're right, I don't like it much, but, I suppose that it has to be done. Anyway, if it's something that will make my Yoh stronger, than I must insist on him doing it. After all, only the best, and hardest, training for the new shaman king." Ayamae smiled at this, and there was thanks in her eyes. "Oh, it sounds like the boys are done with kitchen," Anna said. "You must be tired from your journeying. Should we get you settled in? I'm afraid with all the guests here, there are no empty rooms, but you can share mine if you like."

"Of course, Anna-chan. It'll be just like old times."

"YOH!" Anna called. "Get in here!"

"Hai," Yoh said, walking into the room.

"Take Aya's things up to my room, she'll be staying with me."

Yoh nodded, glancing between the two girls. They seemed somewhat subdued, and he was wondering about what had caused Anna to shout out earlier, but he was too cowardly to question them, so he walked over and bent to pick up the duffle bag.

"Be careful with it Yoh-kun, there are some important things in there," Aya ordered as she followed Anna upstairs. The other shamans ventured into the room once it was empty of Anna and Aya.

"What did they want, Yoh?" Horohoro asked, carefree.

"Just to take Aya's things upstairs," Yoh said, grasping the duffle's handles. He pulled up, grunting. "Man, this thing weighs a ton," he complained, trying to walk it a few feet.

Ren snorted, watching Yoh struggle. "Come on," he said, walking over to Yoh. "Ayamae-san carried that bag with no problem whatsoever, and she's like, what, half you size. It can't be that heavy." With that, Ren reached out to grab the bag, and was shocked to find that he could barely lift it a foot off the ground. "Geez, what does she got in her, lead bricks? Good luck trying to lug that up the stairs."

The others walked up to see if they could pick up the bag, but each of them found it heavier than they thought it would be, and decided to leave Yoh to do it, walking away with a bunch of 'good lucks'. Tears rained down Yoh's cheeks. "Yoh-dono? What's wrong?" Amidamaru appeared beside Yoh, looking at him with concern.

"It's heavy," Yoh complained.

Amidamaru looked a little taken aback, than tears rained down his cheeks as well. "Y…Yoh-dono," he cried with Yoh.

"What with all the fuss?" Aya had come back down the stairs to find where her bag was. After all, she needed to change into her pajamas and couldn't do it until her bag was in Anna's room. She glanced around the room, where Yoh was sitting, still gripping the handles of her duffle, Amidamaru right behind him. Then she glanced at the other door to see the other shamans peeking in. Sighing, she walked over to Yoh and hefted the bad onto her shoulder as if it weighed no more than a couple of pounds, then she turned and headed back up the stairs. "Seriously," she mumbled to herself, nevertheless it carried to the room, which the other shamans had just entered to gawk at her as she stalked up the stairs. "It's not like it's that heavy, if they can't even lift this, then we have a long way to go."

The group turned look in horror at each other at what they had overheard, then with unspoken agreement, they decided it was best in they turned in for the night, to try and rest up for who knew what they had planned for tomorrow.

***

Wow, chapter four is up! and its actually pretty long. Hope you enjoyed my take on Hao's past and why he is the way he is today. Please Review! Thanks =^-^=


	5. Chapter 5

Yay, here's the next chapter! Hope you are all liking the story! If you wouldn't mind reviewing and letting me know what you think, I would really appreciate it! =^-^= But, without further ado…

**Chapter 5: Early Morning Jog**

"Rise and shine you lazy bums! It's time to get up, we have a lot of training to do today," Ayamae announced to the room full of sleepy shamans.

"What time is it?" Horohoro groped for the alarm clock to check. "Five a.m.! It's too early!"

Everyone groaned on hearing the time, and tried to turn over to catch a few more minutes of sleep. "Up, NOW," the voice echoed around the room with icy anger which caused the sleepy shaman's to jump out of bed immediately.

"Y…yes ma'am," they said, stumbling over their words and trying to straighten their sleeping yukatas.

"I expect you downstairs, _dressed,_ and ready for you training in five minutes. Otherwise I will be back up here, and I won't be happy." Ayamae turned on the spot and stalked out of the room, her long black hair blowing around her like a cape.

"She's as scary as Anna-san," Ren said, walking over to close the door. "Are we sure they aren't related?" Yoh shrugged, pulling on his training clothes.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they were," Horohoro grumbled, running his fingers through his blue hair and trying to wake up.

By the time Yoh, Ren, Horohoro, Ryu, Lyserg, and Chocolove made it downstairs, Ayamae was positively fuming, and Faust was off in the corner, clutching hands with Eliza.

Without a word, Ayamae walked to the door, and the shamans followed her. "Each of you gets one," Ayamae said, pointed to a stack of backpacks by the front door. Hoisting her own onto her shoulders, she turned to open the door.

"Umm," Yoh said, hesitating. "We haven't had breakfast yet, and well…" He trailed off at the look on Ayamae's face.

"It's your own fault you haven't had breakfast yet. You could've gotten up a little bit earlier and eaten. Let's go."

"Yeah, except we didn't know when we'd have to be up," Ryu muttered under his breath. Slowly the seven shamans each grabbed a pack and hoisted it onto their shoulders.

"What's in here?" Horohoro blurted out, surprised that the pack seemed so empty, but still weighted close to twenty pounds.

"Oh, a few things here and there," Ayamae answered vaguely, opening the door and walking outside. "Now, you need to keep up with me, think you can do that. Oh, and those packs don't come off, understand?"

They all nodded and followed her out the door. Once they were beyond the gate, Ayamae broke into a light jog. Groaning softly to themselves, the others followed suit, and soon they were headed away from Funbari up towards some hills. It wasn't until they had jogged for an hour that they realized how tiring it was. Yoh was a bit confused because Anna made him jog at least five or six hours a day, and while it was tiring, he could usually make it the first two hours before he felt like he needed a break. Now he felt like he could barely keep moving, yet they seemed to have kept the same pace. Glancing around, Yoh realized that the others seemed to be struggling now to keep up with Ayamae.

After another half hour of jogging, Ayamae turned around to see her trainees had fallen a short distance behind. She sighed and rolled her eyes, coming to a complete stop and waiting for them to catch up.

"Could we take a break for a bit?" Yoh asked, assessing that his friends could also use some time to collect themselves. Even Ren, who always seemed to be cool and collected whenever it came to training, seemed drained of energy.

Ayamae looked at the worn out shamans, and then turned to look ahead of them. "We're almost to the training site," she said, turning back to them. "I'm actually quite pleased we've made such good time. I guess we could walk the rest of the way."

"Good time? Haven't we been jogging at a slow pace this who time?" Ren asked, trying to do calculations in his head.

Ayamae turned to look at him with a puzzled look. Then something seemed to dawn on her. "I know why all of you are so tired," she said, then grinned mischievously. "None of you realized what I was doing on our jog, did you." The confused looks on their faces was enough to confirm her suspicion. "I was gradually changing the speed as we jogged, going faster, then slowing down. Then I would speed up again. I thought you guys would catch on eventually, but none of you has ever run this way, right?"

They all nodded. None of them had even heard of running that way, but it still didn't explain why they were all worn out. If they were taking short breaks of running slower, shouldn't that have rested them enough to run fast again.

Ayamae seemed to be able to read their thoughts, and she laughed. "Let me explain it better. Every time we slowed down, we never slowed down as much as we had previously. And every time we speed up, we would always go faster than we had been going before we slowed down. So, even though we were changing speeds, we were inevitably increasing speed. By the end of the jog, _before_ you stopped me, when we slowed down, we were running as fast as we had when I took us to a fast speed at the beginning of our jog. Does that make sense? It helps your body learn to adjust to changes in timing, and also helps build up your endurance."

Yoh and the rest of the group looked at each other in surprise, and then, realizing that Ayamae had started walking up the hill, hurried to catch up with her. By now their stomachs were growling, and they were wondering just what was waiting for them at the end of their morning jog.


	6. Chapter 6

Yay! I got my first review! Thanks, it makes me sooo happy :3

Well, here's chapter six, hope you enjoy!!! _– I don't own Shaman King_

**Chapter Six: Talking and Training**

Ayamae walked briskly up the hill, slowing down gradually until they came to a complete stop. Looking around at the trees that surrounded them, she nodded to herself; they had made it to the right place. Sighing, she slipped off her pack and set in on the ground.

Yoh and the others joined her, sighing in relief that their morning jog was finally over. They watched as Ayamae dug around in her pack, then came up with some rice balls.

"Well," Ayamae said, glancing up to find all eyes on her. "I'm not going to wait all day for you to eat, so hurry and get your breakfast out. Yoh and the others quickly complied, slinging their backpacks off and opening then up. Reaching inside, they each found a box of rice balls, a bottle of water, and…"

"What's this?" Ryu said, pulling out a round, white stone. It was about the size of a volley ball, completely smooth, and it was heavy. The others reached in their bags and pulled out similar stones, turning them this way and that to figure out what they were.

Ayamae shrugged, finishing her breakfast. "It would have been too easy for you if you only had to carry your breakfast up here in your packs," she said, walking over and taking the stone from Faust, who was closest to her. "Finish you breakfast, then we can begin the real training."

Slowly continuing to eat, the seven shamans watched as Ayamae placed Faust's stone on the ground, collected Lyserg's, placed it a certain distance from the first one, and went to take Chocolove's.

"What are you doing?" Chocolove asked as she hoisted the rock from his pack into her hands. Ayamae, ignoring him, continued to place the stones at equal distance in a circle. Once all the stones were placed, Ayamae looked up at the seven shamans and ordered them to sit in front of the stone they had carried, facing inside the circle. Chocolove, who had seemed to become more energized after eating, promptly made a joke out of what was just said.

Ayamae turned and glared at Chocolove. "It was a joke, a joke!" Chocolove said, trying to explain it and laugh it off. The others shook their heads, but none of them moved to comply with Ayamae's instructions.

"Why are you training us, anyway?" Horohoro asked, curiosity finally getting the better of him. The others nodded, all wondering the same thing.

"Yeah," Ren said. "You woke us up at five in the morning and had us jog all the way out here without so much as telling us exactly what we are supposed to do. Why should we listen to you?"

Ayamae shrugged, a look of amusement on her face. She had wondered when they would start questioning her and found it quite amusing that it wasn't until she asked them to sit down for training that they had a problem. "Look," she said, not being able to explain the exact details until they were all in the circle. "It was your choice to come with me this morning. I thought that you all would like to become stronger and gain more power, but if you all don't like being trained by me, you are welcome to go back to the hotel."

They all looked at each other. Earlier, it hadn't seemed like they had had much of a choice about coming out here or not, but now they were given the choice.

"Well, go on," Ayamae said, her voice icy. "You can all go back to the inn. All of you, except Yoh."

Everyone turned to look at her. "Why do I have to stay?" Yoh asked, although he had already decided to stay and try Ayamae's training, at least for the day.

"Because," Ayamae said, her expression matching that of Anna's annoyed one so closely it was spooky. "I promised Anna that I would make you stronger. So she has now passed your training off to me." Ayamae turned to look at the others. "If you're staying, then _sit _down where I told you to sit. If your leaving, then leave already, you're wasting my time." Glaring at Yoh, Ayamae pointed forcefully at the rock he had lugged up the hill in his backpack.

Glancing back at his friends, Yoh walked over to the rock and sat in front of it, cross legged. The others looked at each other.

"I would follow Yoh-kun to the end of the earth, a little training isn't going to hurt," Faust said, placing himself in front of his rock. Ryu nodded in agreement to Faust's statement and sat in front of his rock.

"Hrmph, you don't think I'll let you get stronger all by yourself, do you Yoh?" Ren asked, placing himself on the ground.

"Yeah, you can't have all the fun," Horohoro said, joining the circle.

"When I first joined you, I trained with you and got a lot stronger, how can I say no to more special training?" Chocolove said, seating himself as well.

Lyserg looked at the others in the group, and then smiled, joining his friends. "I trust you all," he said simply.

Ayamae smile as the seven boys made themselves comfortable. "Okay, I need you to call your spirits here," she said.

"Amidamaru," Yoh said.

The white haired samurai appeared before Yoh. "Yoh-dono," he said, nodding to him.

"Bason!" Ren called.

"Here, young master," Bason answered.

"Kororo."

"Mic!"

"Eliza, my love. Come to me."

"Tokagero."

"Morphine!" Lyserg called out last, his small pixie spirit gliding up to him.

Ayamae watched, and then cleared her throat. "I have one more thing to do, before we can begin," she said, looking around the circle. Then, closing her eyes, she walked clockwise around the outside of the circle, her footsteps never faltering as she made a complete circle. Smiling, she opened her eyes and stepped inside the circle. Wind immediately whipped up around them, blowing around the circle fiercely, but inside the circle all was calm.

"What did you do?" Ren asked, watching the wind whip around them.

"I placed a barrier around us," Ayamae answered. "Now we can talk freely."

"Talk? I thought we were going to train," Horohoro said, crossing his arms.

"We will, after I explain a few things to you," Ayamae said. "I figured you would like to know the real reason I'm training you." The groups eyes widened in anger and annoyance.

"You mean you lied to us?" Ren said, huffing slightly.

"No, not at all. You had a choice all along, and this will make you stronger, but there is a reason you need to be stronger. Three thousand years ago, a shaman became the shaman king after winning the shaman fight. At first, things seemed to be going well for the world, but this shaman was not happy with the way the world was, and tried to destroy it, to cast it into darkness. All the shamans in the world combined their powers to defeat their shaman king and stop him from destroying their world, but he was too powerful. The shamans were only able to banish him to another dimension."

"What does this have to do with us?" Lyserg asked.

"I'm getting there," Ayamae answered. "Now, as you all know, another powerful shaman lived a thousand years ago, Asakura Hao. Hao was corrupted by the shaman king of the past, the one that became known as the Shadow King. Darkness slowly overtook Hao, causing him to believe that a shaman only world was what was right." Ayamae glared at Horohoro who was opening his mouth to say something. He closed it quickly, and Ayamae continued. "When Yoh injured Hao in their last battle, and yes, Hao wasn't killed, just very badly injured, it set the Shadow King back some, because he was working thru Hao to obtain the Great Spirits and make his dream a reality.

"However, the Shadow King is gaining power once again, and if he gains enough, he will throw this world into darkness. The reason I am here is because of a prophesy passed down from ancient times in my family. The prophesy talks about a group of friends who will be able to destroy the Shadow King once and for all. I believe you are that group of friends, so I am here to train you in the ways that have been passed down from generations, to prepare you for the battle that will surely ensue."

"Wait, so, you just like, what, picked us to be your fighters against this all powerful evil, and you expect us to say what? Okay, cool?" Horohoro said, trying to mask the fear that coursed through him at the thought of having to fight someone more powerful than Hao.

"Yes," Ayamae said, her face icy. "Because if you don't, the world will fall, and I don't want to see that happen."

Everyone was silent for a while as they let this news sink in. Yoh looked at Amidamaru and saw that he was deep in thought.

"Amidamaru? Are you okay?" Yoh asked.

"Hmmm…Oh, yes. But, I believe what Ayamae-san has to say is the truth, Yoh-dono. I believe it is best if we listen and take her advice."

"Okay then," Yoh said, putting his hands on the back of his head. "Then, what comes will come, but we'll be as ready for it as possible. Everything will work out in the end."

The others grinned at Yoh's favorite saying, nodding to themselves. What will come, will come, but at least they would be together. Ayamae watched in amazement at the trust and friendship that held the seven shamans so tightly together. She smiled to herself. Everything would work out in the end, with friends like these. But her smile was a little sad, for she worried about how Hao would play a part in all of this. Yoh, grinning to his friends and glancing around the circle, caught the look of sadness that passed across Ayamae's face for only a second. He wanted to ask her about it, but decided that it could wait.

"Okay, now that that's settled, let's start the training," Ayamae said. "I need you all to combine with your spirits, please, and then sit back down." The seven shamans hurried to comply, calling their Hyoi Gattai's, then taking their places in front of the rocks once again.

"Now, I need all of you to close your eyes and empty your minds of any thought…" Ayamae waited and waited, snapping when she noticed one of them fidgeting, repeatedly telling them to clear their minds. They sat like this for an hour, trying to clear their minds of all thought. "Okay, now, I need you to envision your furyoku within yourselves. Now, I need you to call all your furyoku to you, putting it in a tight ball, try not to let any of it escape." She watched at the look of concentration on all of their faces. Sweat poured down from their foreheads, their eyes screwed shut in focus and frustrations. This exercise went on for about another hour, until Ayamae deemed that they had had enough for one day.

"Okay, relax and open your eyes. You did pretty well today, although I expect you to do better tomorrow. If I didn't know better, I'd have to say it looks like none of you ever really meditates," Ayamae sighed, shaking her head.

The shamans released their Hyoi Gattais and wiped their faces on their sleeves.

"It's a lot harder than it sounds, ma'am," Ryu said, watching as Ayamae collected the stones, walking counterclockwise. They watched as the wind died down.

"Put these back in your packs," Ayamae instructed, handing each of them their stones. As they took them, they were surprised to find that the stones were warm to the touch. Following her instructions, they placed the stones back in their packs and settled their packs on their shoulders.

"I'm starving," Horohoro said, rubbing his stomach. Growls answered from six other stomachs and Ayamae smiled.

"Let's get back then, and you can make lunch. I bet Anna is wondering where we are. She's probably ready to tear the house down, waiting for lunch," Ayamae said, shouldering her own pack and setting off down the hill. Yoh and the others glanced at each other, then followed Ayamae's steady, but quick, trod back to the inn.

***

Yay! Chapter six is finally up, and it's long! Man, it took forever to write! Hope you enjoy it, it is a bit weird, well, the training part anyways. I'll try and update soon, I promise. I would write all day if I could, but alas, work calls, among other things…tear…

Please Review, it makes me really happy and helps me to want to keep writing!


	7. Chapter 7

-Tear---No more reviews for me ;( … yet

Anyway, despite the fact that only one person has been kind enough to say, 'keep it up! =^-^=' I continue my work…here's the next chapter:

**Chapter 7: Lunch**

Ayamae kept a brisk walk on their way back to the inn, staying slightly ahead of the boys, but listening to their talking.

"Jeez, I can't believe Hao is still alive, doesn't that guy ever give up?" Horohoro asked to no one in particular.

"Hrmph, it just means we'll have to defeat him later. Although, if I had been the one to fight him, we wouldn't have this problem," Ren said, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at Yoh.

Yoh wasn't paying attention however. His mind had been pondering the thought that Hao, his brother was still alive. He couldn't help it, he was happy that Hao was still alive. Yoh was also curious to the reaction he had noticed in Ayamae at Horohoro's and Ren's comments. She seemed to flinch at the mention of Hao, and she sped up, almost as if she didn't want to hear the rest of the conversation. All of this gave Yoh quite a bit to ponder as they headed back to the inn.

"Hey! Yoh, are you even listening to what we're saying?" Ren asked, his hair spike growing in size.

"Huh?" Yoh grunted, glancing around at his friends.

"Geez, are you daydreaming or something Yoh?" Horohoro asked, hitting him lightly on the back of the head. Chocolove opened his mouth to voice his joke to that. Everyone sweat dropped, and silence fell over the group for a moment. They continued walking, Yoh still thinking about everything he had been told.

"Yoh, hello, you're spacing out again," Ren said, waving his hand in front of Yoh's face.

"Are you feeling alright, Yoh-kun?" Faust asked, a soft look coming into his eyes.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about stuff, you know…" Yoh trailed off, laughing a little.

"Well, anyway," Lyserg chipped in. "We were saying that we're almost there and you might want to get your head out of the clouds before Anna sees."

Ayamae opened the door to the inn. "Anna-chan, we're back!" she called.

Anna came out and smiled at Ayamae, then turned to the group of exhausted shamans. "Well, hurry up and make lunch. I'm hungry, and I'm sure Aya is too." With that, Anna turned back towards the TV room, Ayamae following behind her, glancing back at the boys with a wicked gleam in her eyes and smile on her face.

Horohoro sighed. "Couldn't they, for once, make lunch for us. We're the ones doing all the work."

"We can still hear you!" Anna called from the TV room. Horohoro blanched, and the group quickly made their way into the kitchen.

When they got to the kitchen, they were surprised to see Pirika, Tamao, and Jun setting the table with plenty of food.

Jun looked up and smiled at the looks on their faces. "We decided you guys could use a short break, so why don't you sneak out back and take a rest, and we'll call you when lunch is finished," Jun said, talking quietly.

The group just nodded and silently snuck outside. Yoh sighed and stretched out on his back in the grass. "Ahh, this feels nice, I think I'll take a short nap."

"Yoh-dono," Amidamaru said, popping up as the others found comfortable spots on the grass as well. "Won't Anna-san be mad when she finds out that you didn't cook lunch?"

Yoh cracked an eye open, smiling. "She won't find out unless someone tells her, and I don't think anyone would want to tell her."

"You got that right," said Ryu, linking his hands under his head. "Besides, we worked hard this morning, it's nice to have a short break."

"Here, here," the others answered in unison. Half an hour passed as the seven shamans lazed about in the sun, relaxed their sore muscles. When their stomachs were really beginning to grumble, Manta came out of the house.

"Yoh-kun," he said, looking at the group of shamans sprawled in the grass. "They wanted me to tell you to come in now, lunch is ready."

Sighing, Yoh and the others got up, brushing dirt and grass from their clothes, they snuck back into the kitchen. Then, winking at the others, Yoh went towards the TV room.

"Anna, Ayamae-san, lunch is ready," Yoh said, peeking his head to catch a glimpse of the soap opera the two of them had been enjoying.

"About time," Anna said as she stood up. Ayamae nodded, following her and Yoh into the kitchen. The food was laid neatly on the table, ready to eat.

"Itadakimasu," everyone said, clapping their hands together. _(I believe that's what you say before you eat). _

Before taking a bit, Ayamae looked at Jun, Tamao, and Pirika. "Thanks for making lunch," Ayamae said to them, before turning towards Yoh and the others. "Even though they were supposed to make it. Say, Anna-chan, I think because they slacked off, they shouldn't get the afternoon off, what do you think?"

Anna looked up, pure steel in her eyes, the same wicked grin that was on Ayamae's face on her's as well. "I think they need a taste of my extra special menu," she said simply.

Ayamae nodded. "Then I turn the training over to you this afternoon."

Yoh and the others glanced at Jun, Tamao, and Pirika, all were blushing slightly, and wouldn't meet their eyes.

Ayamae looked back at them. "However, I'm glad you made the meal because I think I would have been sick if the guys made it, you know how they are," she said simply, smiling sweetly and scooping up a forkful of food.

***

Oh, how mean, someone blabbed, or did Anna and Ayamae already know they didn't make lunch. Maybe they planned it that way…hmmm……what other evil plots are in store for our favorite gang of shamans? Wait and see!

Well, hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry its kinda short, and there's not a lot of plot in it either, but deal with it!

Also, PLEASE REVIEW!!! PLZ PLZ PLZ PLZPLZPLZPLZ!!!!! It makes me happy when you do! =^-^=

Thanks!

Oh, also, cause this sort of thing always interests me, even if it doesn't interest you, the story so far is about 17 pages long in microsoft word.


	8. Chapter 8

Not much to say right now, but here's the next chapter. If anything is confusing, doesn't make sense, or you just don't like, well, DEAL with it. That, or send me a review ;) LOL Anyway, enjoy!

**Chapter Eight: Training, training, training…**

By the time Yoh and the others were finished with Anna's special training (Horohoro was quite surprised, and a little mad, that Pirika had let Anna take over his training.) they were all so tired that they nearly drowned as they took their baths.

Dragging themselves out of the wonderfully warm water, they made their way to their rooms. _At least we didn't have to make dinner,_ Yoh thought as he collapsed onto his futon and pulled the covers up over him. The others were thinking the same thing, as they too collapsed and fell asleep.

They were woken at the crack of dawn again, by Ayamae banging their door open and ordering them awake. And so, their day started out again, and went the same as it had the day before. Their early morning jog with the extremely heavy stones in their packs, the meditation, a brisk walk/jog back to the inn, lunch (which, thankfully, they didn't have to make, it was already made for them by the time they got back), then they started Anna's extra special training, dinner, bath, and collapsing into bed, only to start over the next day.

This kind of training went on for a week. Manta always joined them at lunch, and left after dinner, cheering the worn out shamans up before leaving. Yoh and the others didn't think Ayamae and Anna would ever let up, and they didn't, but as the week wore on, the training, though still exhausting, became easier for them to bear.

Seven days into their training, they made their way up the hill on their early morning jog. However, instead of meditating, Ayamae looked them over.

"I think it's time to move onto the next step," she said, eyeing them skeptically. "Yoh, Lyserg, and Horohoro, you will be one team. Ren, Faust, Ryu, and Chocolove, you will make up the other team. This will be a shaman fight. Use your oversouls, and when someone on your team loses their oversoul, your will lose the match. Begin!"

Yoh and the others jumped at the abruptness of the match, and quickly called their oversouls, marveling at how easy it was for them to use their oversouls. It didn't seem to take any effort at all, but instead seemed as natural as walking or breathing.

"I thought I told you to start the match," Ayamae said, one eyebrow twitching as she watched the seven boys stare at each other.

"But, the teams are unevenly matched," Yoh said, counted the members.

Ayamae's eyebrow twitched again, making her look so much like Anna that Yoh cowered. "I don't care. Do you think you will always have even teams going up against you? Fight already."

"Okay, then, here I come!" Ren said, swinging his Bao-lei and jamming it into the ground, causing a lot of pointed weapons to shoot up from the ground around Yoh and his team.

Yoh dodged, then, looking to make sure his teammates were okay, swung his Spirit of Sword. "Shinkuu Buddha-giri!" Yoh cried, swinging his sword at Ren, who jumped out of the way just in time.

Lyserg, Horohoro, Faust, Ryu, and Chocolove charged forward to join the battle, each calling out their own attacks.

"Ultra Sabaki!" Ryu called, swinging his wooden sword.

"Mic, let's go!" Chocolove called, his spirit growling in return and leaping into the fray with Chocolove on his back.

"Eliza, let's go," Faust said gently, following Chocolove into the fight perched on his favorite spot on his oversoul.

"Morphine!" Lyserg shouted, hurrying to clash with Faust and Chocolove while Horohoro and Ryu were caught up in a one on one battle, just as Yoh and Ren were.

"STOP!" Ayamae called, the wind suddenly picking up fiercely and blowing the fighting shamans apart. Yoh and the others looked around, a little dazed from the sudden force of the wind.

"We were in the middle of a battle," Ren shouted, glaring at Ayamae. He had enjoyed being able to test himself against Yoh again.

"If I wanted one on one battles, _or one on two,_ I would have said so. I want you all to fight as a _team_ to work together to defeat the other team. Remember, I told you that if one, only one, of your team members looses their oversoul, your team would lose. Did any of you even know what was going on with the rest of your team members?" Ayamae looked around, noticing everyone had their faces cast downwards. "What would have happened if you were fighting a real enemy? If someone lost their oversoul and no one noticed, that person could have been killed. Now, start again, and this time, fight as a team."

The boys nodded, and huddled together in their groups, discussing their plans. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew them all apart again.

"Do you think if you were attacked you would have time to discuss strategy with the others? The enemy wouldn't wait patiently while you decided the best way to beat them. Get your butts moving!"

The matched resumed as they all charged each other again, trying to keep an eye on their team members, while trying to fight as well. Ayamae stopped the match multiple times to tell them off for forgetting to work as a team.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Teamwork is important!" Ayamae said, feeling a little flustered that it was taking them this long to figure out how to work as a team. She had once again stopped the fight, blowing the shamans apart when she noticed that Faust was fighting two opponents while his team members were focused on the same person. _I know that they're good friends and all, but they can't seem to sense when their friends are in danger. _

"We're doing the best we can!" Horohoro shouted at Ayamae, jolting her out of her musings.

"I know you are," Ayamae said dangerously thru clenched teeth. "That's part of the problem." Sighing, she glanced up at the sun. "Well, it's getting late, we better hurry back to the inn if we're to be there in time for dinner."

"Dinner? We've been out here that long?!?" Yoh and the others shouted, shocked.

"Why are you shocked, you guys have been battling for hours. Really, it's quite boring to watch, all of you using the same techniques over and over again. Tonight, you can all think about how to work together as a team." Ayamae looked at each of them, then grabbed her pack and started down the hill.

The next day went about as well as the previous day at training, but this time, Ayamae grouped them differently. Ren and Chocolove ended up on a team, Ryu and Horohoro, and Faust, Yoh, and Lyserg were a team. After quelling the complaints about uneven numbers, she set them to fighting.

Ayamae grew more and more annoyed as she had to stop the match repeatedly, trying to get them to understand what she was trying to teach them. By the end of this training match, Ayamae turned towards the inn without a word.

Sighing, she massaged her temples, trying to rid herself of the headache that had begun to plague her. _They better learn how to fight as a team soon, _she thought to herself as she listened to the group laughing and joking behind her, completely oblivious to the fact that they had yet to come close to doing what Ayamae wanted them to do.

The next day, Ayamae woke them up at eight o'clock in the morning, instead of five.

"Why did you let us sleep in, Ayamaesan?" Faust asked as they met by the door.

"I know, you slept in and forgot," Chocolove said in a sad attempt at a joke.

Ayamae glanced at the shamans and took a deep breath. "No, you needed the rest, whether you realized it or not."

"What do you mean?" Horohoro asked. "I mean, we appreciate the extra sleep," he hurriedly continued, "but, how would you know we needed the extra rest?"

Ayamae turned to look at him, the others were nodding in agreement, looking at her questioningly. "Because," she said, with the air of explaining that one plus one equals two to a very emotional toddler. "I've been paying close attention to you Furyoku levels. If you learn to read them right, you can tell a lot about a person." And with that, she started the jog.

Having started later in the morning than usual meant that they didn't have nearly as much time to train, however, Ayamae set up teams.

"Okay, Ren and Yoh, you're one team, the rest of you are another. Try to work as a team, please."

"But," Yoh began to complain, then silenced himself at one look from Ayamae.

This time, Ayamae let the fight continue. She pressed her lips together tighter and tighter as she watched the teams fight. She had to stop herself from blowing all the shamans apart multiple times, she would just let them continue without her interruption.

Watching the fight, she noticed Ren and Horohoro get into a quarrel, focusing completely on each other. As they fought, Ryu, Faust, Lyserg, and Chocolove gained up on Yoh. Ayamae was impressed that Yoh was doing such a good job holding his own. _But I should expect nothing less from a descendant of Hao, _she thought. However, as good as Yoh was, going up against four of his friends was too hard. He was flung backwards into a rock and lost his oversoul.

"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru cried, hovering over Yoh.

"Ouch," Yoh said, getting very shakily to his feet and rubbing his head. His friends came rushing over.

"Yoh!"

"Yoh-kun!"

"Donna!" (Is that what Ryu calls him?)

"Yoh!"

"Yoh!"

"Yoh, are you alright?"

_(Wow, sorry for the interruption, it just seems like there's a lot of Yoh yelling going on, anyway, back to the story.)_

His friends crowded around him, each trying to make sure he was okay.

"I'm fine," Yoh said, still rubbing the back of his head.

"Let me see," a voice said behind Ren, making him jump. Pushing his friends out of the way, Ayamae grabbed Yoh's arm and led him over to the rock he had hit, making him sit down. Gently, she parted his hair, looking for the exact spot he had hit.

The skin was red, and there was a bump on the back of his head that Ayamae was sure must have been giving Yoh a major headache.

Yoh closed his eyes as he felt Ayamae's cool fingers rest against the bump. He sighed as he felt a gentle coolness flow into it, taking away the burn and the ache that had set in.

"There," Ayamae said, voice sounding annoyed, but it didn't fool Yoh, her touch had been gentle. He stood up, his headache already gone. He turned around to ask Ayamae how she had done that, but Ayamae cut him off.

"This is the sort of thing that happens when you don't work as a team!" she calmly, but this calm was almost frightening. "You can't let your own battles get between your connection to your friends. I don't know how to explain this any better, but I must say, I'm surprised it took so long for something like this to happen today. It makes me wonder what kind of things you could accomplish if you actually worked together as a team."

She took a moment to let this sink in. "I think that's enough training for today. Let's go home," Ayamae turned and grabbing her pack, headed down the hill. She shook her head, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. For a moment, just a moment, it had seemed like it was a thousand years ago, and she had been caring for one of Hao's many bumps he came across in his line of work. Yoh was so much like how Hao used to be, before the darkness took over. _I wonder how Hao is doing right now? Is he okay, is the Shadow King still controlling him? Does he even remember me? _Ayamae shook her head. _I've got to stop thinking like this, whatever happens, happens, there's nothing I can do._

"Hey," Yoh had jogged up to walk beside her. He saw her blink tears from her eyes, and waited while she composed herself.

"Yes, Yoh?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Are you okay?" Yoh asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Ayamae lied, trying not to think about how much Yoh looked like Hao. "How are you? After a bump to the head like that, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a major migrane."

Yoh grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "I would have, but what you did really helped. I just wanted to say thank you."

Ayamae smiled at him, a genuine smile. She opened her mouth to say something.

"Hey, Yoh!" Horohoro called, motioning for Yoh to come back and walk with them.

"Go on," Ayamae said, still smiling. "I believe you all need to have a nice chat about teamwork."

Yoh smiled back, then stopped and waited for the others to catch up to him as Ayamae continued her brisk pace. _I wonder what's bothering her, _Yoh thought as he started to walk next to his friends. _Maybe I should talk to Anna about it._

Dinner was waiting for them by the time they got back. After stuffing their faces, the boys headed off to the bath, then collapsed on their futons, getting the sleep they would need for the next day of training.

***

Yay! I finished this chapter! Man, I really hope they learn to fight as a team before someone really gets hurt…

Well, I hope you liked it, and that you review! o cause that would be awesome if you did!

Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

Hurray! I finally have another review! That makes me soooo happy I had to update! 

Anyway, sorry, things have been kinda crazy with work and starting classes and all……sigh…

Okay, done brooding, onto the story!

**Chapter Nine: A Fight, and a Meeting**

The next morning found the seven shamans and Ayamae on their usual training ground, with one thing different. Ayamae was holding a pair of sais, (for those of you who don't know what they are, look it up! )

"Uh, what are those for?" Yoh asked, eying the silver blades.

"These are mine," Ayamae answered, twirling them expertly in her hands. "I've decided that you guys aren't learning teamwork by fighting each other, so, I'll be your opponent."

Seven jaws dropped to the ground as they stared at the small black-haired girl they had come to respect and even call friend.

"No offense, madam, but, we don't want to hurt you," Ryu said, shouldering his wooden sword and standing up taller. The others nodded, not at all liking the idea of attacking her.

Ayamae grinned wickedly. "Oh, I don't think that's going to happen," she said with a hint of mischief in her voice. "I don't think you'll be able to touch me, at the level you are at now. But, who know, you _might_ surprise me." With that, Ayamae called her oversoul to her blades. They began to glow with a silver flame, but nothing else about them changed. Ayamae relaxed into a fighting stance and beckoned the boys forward.

Yoh and the others looked at each other with raised eyebrows. No one wanted to make the first move. Then, quick as a flash, something, that something being Ayamae, knocked them flat on their backs. She grinned at them as they clambered to their feet again.

"Hey, we weren't ready," Horohoro complained.

"Well, I'm done waiting," Ayamae said. "So you better get-"

She was cut off as hundreds of pointed weapons burst from the ground, all coming from Ren's attack. The fact that he had been knocked flat by a girl, _before_ he even knew what was happening, was not something he liked, even when it was done by someone he respected. Ren grinned, looking up, hoping he caught Ayamae by surprise. The others looked at him, surprised he jumped into the fight so suddenly, then they glanced back at where Ayamae had been, a little worried.

"Where are you aiming?" A voice came from the trees. Yoh and the others looked around, and saw Ayamae standing on a low branch. "You'll have to move quicker than that to hit me. Now, I promise to be good and not knock you down too often, so you have to promise to fight me for real." With that said, Ayamae jumped down, winds whipping around her, and ran at the shamans.

_She sure is fast,_ Yoh thought as he ducked out of the way as one of Ayamae's sais came whistling over his head. Quickly calling up his Spirit of Sword, he pulled his power in until it was the size of a real katana, then ran after Ayamae.

The fighting soon got serious as the gang tried to land a blow on Ayamae, but try as they might, they couldn't seem to touch her, though they received plenty of bumps and bruises in the process.

Ayamae sighed, dodging another blow from Ryu and twisting away to smack Lyserg lightly on the back of the head. _If they actually worked together, instead of each trying to be the one to hit me, they might actually land a blow on me, _she thought as she dodged Horohoro's icicles once again.

The battle went on for nearly two and a half hours with no luck to the gang. Panting, they stopped, glaring at where Ayamae had landed, quite calmly, in the branches of a tree.

"You need to learn to work as a team, if you want to have any chance in touching me," Ayamae said, looking down on all of them. "Team work is as important in fighting an enemy as in protecting a friend."

She stood still in the tree, letting this sink into the minds of the exhausted shamans below her. While the fight had taken a toll on her, after all she had used up a lot of physical energy, even if she hadn't used a lot of furyoku for the fight, the fight had obviously pushed Yoh and the others past their breaking point. It was time to return back to the inn.

About to jump down from the tree, Ayamae felt a change in the wind. _Something's coming, _she thought, looking around. Closing her eyes, she focused more closely on the change. _I should say, someone, _she corrected herself, feeling slightly ill. She could sense him now, as clearly as she could feel the wind tickling her face. Hao was coming. He was coming and she had depleted Yoh and others furyoku so thoroughly, she knew they couldn't do anything to fight him at this point in time.

Growling to herself for being foolish enough to think she had more time to train them, this was Hao after all, who had learned so much of the ways of the world with her, Ayamae threw both sais into the middle of the circle of Yoh and his friends.

They jumped as the blades buried themselves into the dirt. Ayamae followed soon after, landing lightly in the dirt, she closed her eyes and focused on the wind, willing it to listen to her and do as she asked it.

Dealing with winds had always been her specialty, 1000 years ago, and in this time period, just as fire had always been Hao's. Hao had even told Ayamae, 1000 years ago, that he could no more survive without her as fire could survive without air.

Ayamae twisted the winds, pulling them around her, Yoh, and the others. She felt Hao approaching closer, and knew that the others felt him as well when she saw them close their mouths, and saws their eyes widen in shock.

Ayamae secured her barrier of wind just in time. Hao rode up on the Spirit of Fire, and looked down at the small group with hatred.

"What's with the look of shock? Don't tell me you thought you had defeated me," Hao said, a dark smile crossing his face. "As if my power could be defeated by the likes of you." Laughing Hao looked everyone in the eye one at a time. A look of shock, and sorrow, _no, that couldn't be right, _Yoh thought, watching his twin, crossed Hao's face as he looked at Ayamae. A small light bloomed in his eyes, but was extinguished so quickly, Yoh wasn't sure he had seen it. Hao's eyes became dark and cold once again. Setting his jaw, Hao called, "Spirit of Fire, burn them all to ashes, they are nothing more than an eyesore."

The gang flinched as fire was shot down towards them. Expecting to feel the heat of the flames, they looked up astonished, to find the fire died as it touched the wind barrier that surrounded them.

"How…" Hao opened and closed his mouth, now shocked. Glancing once again at Ayamae, he mouthed the words _'it couldn't be.' _Shaking his head, Hao ordered another attack, with no such luck.

"Leave now Hao, or your fire won't be the only thing dying," Ayamae said, her voice colder than ice. Yoh glanced around at her, surprised. He had never heard her use that tone of voice, and even though he had only known her for two weeks, he felt like she rarely, if ever, spoke like that. Looking at her now, he saw that her jaw was locked tight, and her eyes had gone cold and dark, but Yoh also sensed something else in her, sorrow, and, _no that can't be right, _Yoh thought, trying, but failing to convince himself he wasn't sensing love from Ayamae.

Hao gave everyone one more icy glare, "You haven't seen the last of me," he spat at Yoh and the others. "I promise you I'll be back, and you'll be sorry when I do come back." With that, he disappeared.

***

Yay! There's chapter nine! I'm so glad I updated, but sorry it's kinda short, it's late and I want some sleep. I'll try and update as soon as possible. Thank you to my reviewers, who inspire me to continue writing. I hope you enjoyed Hao……yeah, he's still evil, for now……………….

Thanks for reading, please review, like I like to say, it makes me so happy!!!!! 


	10. Chapter 10

Here's the next chapter, and yes, we will be seeing more YohxAnna soon!

**Chapter Ten: The Talk**

The wind barrier collapsed as soon as Hao had gone. Ayamae turned from Yoh and the others and bent to retrieve her sais. Wiping dirt off of the blades, she secured them to her knee high boots and grabbed her pack.

"We better get back to the inn and check on the others," Ayamae said, not looking at anyone. With that she started off down the hill.

The group looked questioningly at each other. They had a million questions going through their heads, the top of which they were wondering where Ayamae had learned to put up such a strong wind barrier, one that could stop Hao, and make him turn away.

"Ayamae," Yoh said, jogging a little to catch up to her. The others were following close behind, each discussing what they had just seen. Yoh looked at her quizzically, opening his mouth to ask a question, then closing in at the look on Ayamae's face. Her jaw was set, her eyes were hard, but there were tear tracks down her cheeks, and she bit her lip as if to keep herself from crying more.

Yoh stopped, stunned. He didn't understand what was going on exactly.

"That was intense, huh, Yoh?" Horohoro asked, obviously finishing a thought.

"Huh, what? Oh, yeah," Yoh said, not really paying attention. He started walking again, following his friends. Anna was waiting at the entrance to the inn, arms folded in front of her. Behind her stood Tamao, Jun, Pirika, and Manta, all watching Ayamae, Yoh, and the others approach, their spirits at their sides and discussing the events with the shamans.

Ayamae came up to Anna and they talked in quiet whispers for a minute. Anna looked at Ayamae with concern, but Ayamae only smiled. They hugged, then Ayamae went inside. Anna looked at Yoh and the others, then beckoned them in.

Dinner was set on the table, and everyone started eating. Yoh and the gang were telling those who hadn't been there what had happened earlier. Manta was stunned that Hao was back, and coming after Yoh and the others again. The others wanted to know exactly what Ayamae had did, to make the barrier. Ayamae, however, was not present. Anna had explained to the others that Ayamae was resting, and was not to be disturbed.

After dinner and cleanup, everyone sat around and talked for awhile, laughing and joking, relieving the stress that day had caused. Not long after, everyone decided to go to bed.

When Yoh was sure that Ren, Horohoro, and the others were asleep, he crept out of the bedroom. He walked over to one of the many balconies and opened the door, stepping into the chilly air. Leaning on the balcony railing, Yoh gazed up at the stars. Soft footsteps warned him of someone else approaching, but Yoh already knew who it was.

Turning around, he smiled as his fiancé, Anna, joined him on the balcony. Setting her hands on the balcony, she turned to look at the stars. Yoh turned back to gazing at the stars, resting one of his hands gently on Anna's. Anna smiled softly, turning her hand to intertwine her fingers with Yoh's. They stood there, gazing up at the stars, for a time, taking comfort in each other's presence.

Finally, Yoh sighed, turning to Anna. "Anna, we need to talk," he said.

Anna turned to face him, and nodded. When they were kids, Anna had always been rough on Yoh, forcing him into doing things he didn't want to do, their meetings always ended in tears. Now, after the defeating Hao, Anna had begun to show Yoh her softer side. Not in front of his friends, no, in front of them she kept up her reputation as the ice queen, and Yoh was fine with that. It made the moments they had alone all the more special.

"So," Yoh prompted. "Do you know what's going on with Ayamae?"

Anna nodded her eyes grave. "Ayamae didn't want to bother you or the others with the details, but she told me earlier she felt that you were starting to guess at what was going on. She said it was okay to tell you, but she would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell the others, not yet at least."

Yoh nodded, curious as to what was going on that none of them knew about yet.

Anna sighed, meeting Yoh's eyes with her own, and told Yoh everything. She told him about the Shadow King, Hao, and who Ayamae truly was, and how she had come to figure it out. She explained about the prophesy and how Ayamae, still in love with Hao, was hoping there was some way to save Hao from the influence of the Shadow King.

When Anna had finished, Yoh whistled quietly. "No wonder that meeting with Hao was so upsetting to her. She was seeing firsthand what Hao has become." Yoh sighed, running his free hand through his hair. Anna squeezed the hand she held.

"We should go to bed," she said softly. "Yoh look exhausted, and who knows what tomorrow will bring."

Yoh nodded in agreement. Standing together on the balcony for a minute longer, they finally released hands and walked inside.

"Goodnight Anna," Yoh said, turning back to his room.

"Goodnight Yoh," Anna whispered, favoring him with one more of her soft, sweet smiles. She was glad he had taken the truth calmly, and accepted Ayamae for who she was. She had also seen in his eyes that he also hoped there was a way to save Hao. With one last glance back at Yoh's bedroom door, Anna entered her own bedroom.

***

Yay! Another chapter up! I'm so glad, I've been wanting Anna to tell Yoh for a while! Anyway, hope you liked it!

Please review, if you want…it helps me want to keep writing!


	11. Chapter 11

Hey! Sorry for the wait, but I'm finally updating! It's been hard though…I haven't had many reviews to keep me happy… _wallows in self-pity…_ Oh well, on with the story!

Thanks to all those who have been kind enough to review! If you have any suggestions, plz let me know!

Me: Once again, like always, I sadly do not own Shaman King...Oh well, no wish crying over spilt milk...

Yoh: Rosimae, that made no sense.

Me: Uhh...Onward with the story!

**Chapter Eleven: What Happens Next?**

The next day found Yoh and the gang once again on an early morning jog. How Ayamae found the energy to keep this up was anyone's guess, but it was hard, exhausting work, and the gang was surprised that they were even able to keep up with their friend.

Yoh watched Ayamae carefully as they jogged. She was leading them somewhere new, because Hao had found where they trained before, and Ayamae didn't want a repeat of what had happened, not so soon after. Ayamae seemed tired as Yoh watched her. She certainly didn't run them as hard as she normally did, nor was she quite as bossy as normal.

_Well, I guess that shouldn't surprise me,_ Yoh thought. _She did work up and hold a powerful barrier yesterday, _after _fighting all seven of us, _and _beating us._

Yoh sighed. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't imagine that this young, spirited girl had been married to Hao. But, then again, he hadn't known who Hao was back then. He had caught a glimpse of it, in the Chō Senji Ryakketsu that he and the others had gone through in order to become stronger, and again, when Hao had taken his spirit, but it was still hard to fathom.

Ayamae seemed to decide that the small clearing they had found would be as good a training spot as any, and lifted her pack from her shoulders. Again, she drew her sais out, and, without any sort of preamble, 'fight as a team' speech, beckoned the others to attack her.

Yoh stood back as his friends went of the offense and watched how easily Ayamae dodged each of their attacks.

"Yoh! Stop staring at us with your mouth hanging open and help us!" Horohoro shouted, barely dodging an attack that Ayamae had aimed at him.

Then, just as Yoh was stepping forward to join, his Spirit of Sword in hand, he felt something coming from the direction of Lyserg.

"Oi! Lyserg, look out!" Yoh called, racing forward just in time to block the attack that Ayamae had sent Lyserg's way. Lyserg looked startled, he hadn't even noticed what was happening until after Yoh had blocked the attack.

The fighting stopped almost immediately when they heard something unfamiliar to them. Something they hadn't heard for a while, and never in these circumstances.

It was giggling. They looked around, astonished to find Ayamae smiling and clapping. "That's it Yoh. That's how you fight as a team! You felt it didn't you? You felt when Lyserg was in danger."

Yoh nodded, dumbfounded as the others turned accusing glares at him.

"Well, what did you do?" Ren asked.

"I don't…I was just…I don't know what I did, I just felt it, that's all," Yoh stammered, not sure how to explain how he had done it.

"It's something you all need to learn for yourselves, that, and how to read each other's movements, so you can work off each other in order to have a more coordinated attack," Ayamae explained, trying to make them see this was something they needed to figure out for themselves.

They fought for another couple of hours, trying to focus more on the rest of the gang, and work as a better team. It was only near the end of the training session, when Ayamae was almost ready to call a stop for the day, when it truly happened.

Lyserg, Chocolove, Faust, and Ryu came at Ayamae simultaneously, each from a different direction. Ayamae smiled. _You'll have to do better than that,_ she though as she did a back flip and jumped into the air to avoid their attacks. But then, she was surrounded by Yoh, Ren, and Horohoro, each also coming at her from different angles, posed to stop her from escape, and ready to finally land a blow on her.

Ayamae twisted in the air, dodging Yoh's and Horohoro's blows. _They finally did it,_ she thought, smiling to herself and she landed gracefully on the ground. _They're finally working together, as a team._

She looked up in time to see Yoh, Ren and Horohoro land. All seven of them were looking at her.

"Man, I thought we got you for sure, that time," Horohoro said. The others nodded, they had felt something in that last attack, and they were sure that it would work.

"You did," Ayamae said, breaking through their thoughts, she held up her left hand, which had a shallow cut across the top. "You all did very well, I wasn't expecting something like that."

They all tried to gain control of themselves again, letting her words sink in.

"We did it! We finally did it!" they shouted, jumping up and down and celebrating. Ayamae watched them with a broad grin on her face. Finally, she had finally broken through and brought out their true potential.

When they had all calmed down considerably, Ryu turned to Ayamae. "What now, mistress, if you don't mind my asking."

Ayamae's grin broadened, showing her teeth. "Now, now the true fun begins."

***

Me: Yay! Hoped you liked it! Sorry, I know its kinda short, I'll try and update again as soon as possible…

Hao: please review…elsewise, what will happen to us?...


	12. Chapter 12

Yay! I finally got more reviews! That makes me sooo happy, I just had to update...

Yeah, sorry its been so long, life's kinda been crazy, anyway, here we go...

**Chapter Twelve: We Meet Again**

The training took on a heightened sense of purpose as each of the boys worked harder than they had ever worked in their lives. As the days wore on, each of them began to show more and more signs of fatigue, but they were also finding that they had grown considerably stronger.

Six days after they had finally managed to land a blow on Ayamae found them staggering back into the inn. They were exhausted, and even Ayamae, who generally didn't show fatigue, was tired. The days of sparing with Yoh and the gang, when they were actually working well together, had taken its toll on her, and it was finally beginning to show.

They all collapsed at the dinner table, shoving food into their mouths and not joining in the conversation. From what they could tell of it, it didn't interest them much, just a bunch of talk about what the girls had been doing while they had been training.

Yoh and the others went to bed after dinner, asleep before their heads even hit their pillows. Anna and Ayamae watched them leave the kitchen, then excused themselves from the table. Pirika, Jun, and Tamao all looked up and waved as they left, then went back to talking about what they should do tomorrow.

Anna and Ayamae sat down in the TV room on the couch. "So, how are they doing?" Anna asked.

Ayamae smiled. "Really well, I must say, I'm quite impressed by their progress."

Anna nodded at this, studying her friend. They hadn't had a lot of time together since Yoh and the others had started training with Ayamae, and Anna missed the time they could spend together.

"You look tired," Anna stated, noticing the slight bags under Ayamae's eyes, and the light bruise on her cheek.

Ayamae smiled again, and laughed. "I am. Those seven are a lot stronger than they know they are. It's a challenged just to keep up with them sometimes. But, I think we could all use a break tomorrow. Maybe me and you could get some shopping done, and hang out, relax. Its been awhile since we've been able to do that, and I for one could use a break."

This time it was Anna's turn to laugh. "That's true, and it does sound like fun. It'll also give the boys time to rebuild their energy."

***

By the time Yoh and the others woke up the next day, Anna and Ayamae were already out shopping with Jun, Tamao, and Pirika. Manta was there when they went downstairs, and they were excited to find that there were pancakes for breakfast.

"What's going on?" Ren asked, as Yoh, Horohoro, and Chocolove immediately dug into a large plate of pancakes. "Where's Ayamae? Are we training today?"

Manta explained that they got the day off to relax and enjoy themselves. "Besides," Yoh said, wincing as he swallowed a particularly large bite of pancakes. "We could all use the rest, even Ayamae."

Everyone nodded at this. They had all noticed that Ayamae was showing signs of fatigue, they just didn't think about how much she would also need a break. She seemed like she could go on forever, that they sometimes had to remind themselves that she was only human, after all.

***

Anna, Ayamae, Jun, Tamao, and Pirika had all enjoyed the day out together immensely. Heading back to the inn with shopping bags full of cloths, accessories, and food (they had to get more groceries with all the boys in the house, after all), they watched the sun begin to sink behind the horizon.

Walking into the inn, they found the guys all spralled out in front of the TV watching a movie and laughing.

"Oh, hey, you're back," Yoh said, hearing them walk past the TV room. He jumped up, the others following suit, and followed the girls into the kitchen.

"Did you girls have fun?" Faust asked as he began helping to put away the grocieries. The girls all looked at each other and smiled.

"Yep," Pirika said, sighing as she remembering the day spa they had all gone to to get massages, manicures, and pedicures. "It was a blast."

Tamao nodded enthusiastically, and Jun was lost in her own little world with Li.

"It was, relaxing," Ayamae said, sighing as she set water on the stove to boil. "But," she continued, her voice going steely. "Training continues tomorrow, so be prepared."

Ryu chuckled, shaking his head as he began to chop up carrots and celery. Without even thinking, they had all decided on having homemade chicken noddle soup for dinner, and everyone began to pitch in to help make it.

Laughing and joking, the large group of people sat finally sat down to eat. The soup was delicious, and everyone was just happy to be in each others company.

Ayamae was the first to feel the presence outside of the inn. Tensing, she stood up, every fiber of her being alert.

"Aya, whats..." Yoh began, but trailed off as he, too, felt the presence outside. Everyone in the room fell silent, holding their breaths, praying it wasn't real, and then Ayamae sprinted out the door. Yoh and the others looked at each other, then followed suit.

Ayamae ran outside and saw him. Hao. Her Hao. Sitting of the gigantic form of the Spirit of Fire. Ayamae didn't know what to think. Hao had a smile on his face, but it wasn't the kind, sweet smile she remembered, this one was an evil smirk. Studying him, she noticed the dark aura surrounding him.

"So," he said, his lips curling into a snarl. "We meet again."

***

Well, there you go! Cliff hanger! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks again to all those who review! It really does make my day!


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, okay, so I couldn't leave you with that cliff hanger. Besides, it's either type this story, or work on homework, ugh, so, as you can see, writing this won out!

Besides, its relaxing to type this. Still, please review!

**Chapter Thirteen: The Fight**

"Hao," Ayamae gasped, too shocked about seeing him to react. She wanted to badly to run up to him and throw her arms around around him. She wanted so bad to have him comfort and hold her, and to comfort and hold him. But now, Hao was nothing like the man she married. Still, she wanted to see if she could bring him out of the Shadow King's clutches.

Hao! Don't you remember me?" Ayamae shouted to him, ignoring the others who were rushing out of the house. "Don't you remember who I am?"

Hao's smirk faded a little as he recognized the voice. He looked at her, looked into her eyes. Something inside of him stirred. Ayamae, watching him intently, noticed his eyes softening. She smiled a little in relief. "You do remember! Hao, please, don't do this," she called.

_She's not who you think she is_, a sinister voice spoke in Hao's ear. _She is trying to trick you. To distract you so the others can defeat you and stop your dream from coming true._

"No!" Hao shouted, trying to shake the voice from his head.

_Kill her, and destroy the others. They are the ones who denied your dream before. Stop them now._

"No," Hao said, warring with himself, not quite able to hurt the girl who reminded him so much of his wife.

_Kill her. Humans are evil, and anyone who helps them are evil. Remember what they did to you. Destroy them all!_

Ayamae and the others stood watching as Hao yelled, grabbing his head. _Please,_ Ayamae thought, silently begging Hao to remember. _Please, Hao, please._

Hao shouted, blasting energy straight at Ayamae. Everyone watched, horrified as Ayamae was thrown back, into a tree, and crumpled to the ground.

Yoh and the gang shouted, calling their oversouls and racing to attack Hao. He turned to face them, breathing heavily, a crazed look in his eyes. "Your tricks won't work on me," he snarled, blocking their attacks. "I won't be fooled!"

Anna, Jun, Pirika, and Tamao ran over to where Ayamae was slumped on the ground. Anna grabbed her, helping her sit up. She struggled, raising her head and looking around, her eyes landing on the fight that was taking place in front of her.

"No," she cried, burying her face in Anna's dress. "I thought I could get through to him. I thought, that is only, if only..." she trailed off, breaking down completely.

Anna rubbed her back. She had never seen Ayamae in such a state. Both girls had learned early in life to keep their emotions under control, so this was shocking, to say the least. Jun, Pirika, and Tamao watched wide eyed. They didn't completely understand what was going on, but they had never seen Ayamae like this before.

"Horohoro! Ryu!" they heard Yoh shout. Looking up they watched as Horohoro and Ryu were thrown back and smashed into trees. They collapsed there, lying still.

"Why you!" Ren yelled, rushing in to attack Hao in anger.

"Ren!" Yoh yelled, running to stop Ren from being hurt, but he too was thrown backwards.

Faust, Chocolove, and Lyserg rushed forward, Yoh right behind them.

Ayamae looked up in time to see Faust, Chocolove, and Lyserg thrown backwards as well.

"No!" she yelled as Yoh rushed up to Hao. Hao held out his hand, his Spirit of Fire transformed into a sword and he gripped the handle, bringing it up to clash with Yoh. They locked hilt to hilt. Ayamae struggled to her feet, running a few feet towards the battle before stopping, clutching the necklace she was wearing at watching as the twins threw themselves into battle.

Tears were streaming down her face as she watched Yoh and Hao battle. Unsurprisingly, they were evenly matched, for after weeks of Ayamae's training, Yoh had gotten a lot stronger. _They could have already defeated Hao if they had worked together,_ Ayamae thought, watching Hao and Yoh parry and strike.

Yoh and Hao came hilt to hilt again, neither gaining the upper hand. Ayamae watched, and noticed that Yoh had the upper hand, but was hesitating to exploit it.

"Yoh, just finish him!" Ayamae called out, sobbing and falling to her knees. The look in Hao's eyes frightening her, and she had lost all hope of saving him. Now, the best thing to do would be to finish Hao, and stop the Shadow King from gaining more power through him.

Yoh glanced over at Ayamae, shocked at what she had said. He saw her there, on the ground, watching them with tears streaming down her face and grief in her eyes. _I can't do it, _he thought, as Hao broke away from him. _I can't kill my brother. I have to try to save him. I can't give up hope._

Hao came at him again, and Yoh parried his blow. "Hao, listen, no one is trying to trick you here," Yoh said, trying to talk sense into his brother. "Don't you know who she is? Don't you see what you're doing to her?"

"No! You're lying," Hao shouted, but he looked towards Ayamae, and something in him twisted. His stomach was churning. _Could it be true, could she really?_ Hao thought to himself.

_No, its a lie, its all lies, _the voice screeched in Hao's mind.

"Hao, look at her! You know who she is," Yoh said, parrying another blow. "You loved her once, a thousand years ago. Loved her enough to marry her, to promise you would always protect her."

Hao stopped at that. It was true. It was the one thing that Hao always beat himself up over. He _had_ promised to always protect her, his wife, the woman he loved. And he had failed her. She had been killed, _murdered_, by the people they both had worked so hard to protect. And with her went his unborn child.

Hao dodged Yoh's next blow, then went after Yoh again. "What do you know of it? You have no idea what I went through! _They_ took her from me! It's all _their_ fault."

Yoh and Hao were once again locked hilt to hilt. Yoh looked calmly into Hao's eyes. "That may have been true a thousand years ago, but look at what you're doing to her now. She is your wife. She was reborn into this world, just as you were. She remembers everything, and she still loves you. She trusts you, and cares for you more than you know. Despite everything she has heard about your doings, she can't stop loving you, and its killing her inside. Can't you see that you're possessed?"

"No!" Hao shouted, backing away.

_Kill them! Kill them now! They're lying to you! _The shadowy voice it Hao's mind screamed, but the scream was becoming more and more faint, being drowned out at the feelings swirling through Hao's heart. Love, guilt, compassion, anger, hate, kindness...love...love flooded into Hao's heart and mind, releasing the Shadow King's grip on Hao's mind.

_No!_ the voice shouted, fading away into darkness.

Hao dropped his sword, the Spirit of Fire transforming into its original form and standing behind Hao. Hao looked at Yoh, a small, nervous, tentative smile on his face. Yoh returned the smile, for the first time seeing Hao as he must have been before the Shadow King got a grip on his heart. His eyes, once so cold and hateful, were softened now by kindness, and shadowed by sorrow and remorse.

"Yoh, I...I don't know what to say...how can I thank you...you helped me to see what I haven't seen in years, a thousand years...I, um," Hao murmured, feeling scared, not wanting to be rejected.

A sudden warmth surrounded him and he was enfolded into a hug. "I'm just glad to see I was able to get through to you, onii-san," Yoh whispered, finally breaking the hug. "I think there's someone who would like to see you now."

Hao looked around. He noticed Anna, who was standing a little way off, trying to explain what was going on to some very confused girls. He noticed Horohoro, Ren, Chocolove, Faust, Ryu, and Lyserg, still lying on the ground. Flinching, he realized he had done this.

"Hao," a soft voice spoke, almost as if afraid Hao would disappear if she startled him. Hao looked up, and into the blue green eyes of Ayamae.

"Aya," he said, just as softly. Ayamae took a tentative step forward, almost not believing it. The dark aura that had surrounded Hao was gone, the the light, almost golden aura that she remembered was back.

"Hao!" she finally yelled, tears of happiness streaming down her face, she ran to him and flung herself into his arm, sobbing into his chest. "I've missed you," she choked out between sobs.

Hao smiled kindly, look down at her and stroking her hair. "I've missed you too," he whispered. "I've been such a fool, I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything," Ayamae said, pulling away from him just lightly. "At least, not yet." And she pulled Hao's head towards her. Parting her lips slightly, she closed her eyes as their lips meet.

***

Aww! How sweet! Finally, Hao gets to join the good guys! But how will the others react? What will they think?

Well, hopefully, with any luck, I'll be able to update soon! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. There are still lots to come!

Please review! And thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

Sorry its been so long since I've updated. Life has been crazy what with school and work. I'm finding I hardly ever get time for myself anymore....

Anyways, thanks to some requests, I'm finally updating!

**Chapter 14: WHAT!**

Ayamae pulled back from Hao, who had a slightly awestruck look on his face. Yoh and Anna had just finished explaining things to Manta (who had joined the girls to figure out what was going on), Jun, Pirika, and Tamao, who were very confused and in some cases, slightly angry and mistrusting.

Anna walked up to stand next to Yoh, watching Ayamae and Hao hugging again. Yoh glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, smiled, and wrapped an arm gently around Anna's shoulders, pulling her right up next to him. Anna looked up at him, startled at this sudden public display of affection, then relaxed against Yoh, resting her head on her shoulder. Things seemed to be okay now, and hopefully, with any luck, they would stay that way.

Hao was hugging Ayamae closed, not willing to let her go quite yet, when the six shamans that Hao had knocked out earlier began to stagger to their feet.

Rubbing his head, Ren looked around, and his eyes came to rest on Hao, choking Ayamae! "Hao!" Ren shouted, calling up all the furyoku he could muster as his rushed at Hao for an attack. Lyserg, Faust, Ryu, Chocolove, and Horohoro had also noticed Hao, and decided to join Ren in the attack. All six of them launched themselves at Hao, ready to finally put a stop to all his evil doings.

"Wait!" Yoh said, placing himself between Hao and his friends.

"Yoh! What are you doing? He trying to kill Aya! Get out of the way," Horohoro yelled as they all came skidding to a stop.

"No, he's not," Yoh said, tentatively stepping aside so that his friends could see what was really going on. They stared in shock as they took in the sight of Ayamae, still with Hao's arms around her, staring at them with a bemused look on her face. Tears has stained her cheeks, but now a smile showed in her eyes and on her lips. Slowly, the group focused their attention on Hao, who had gone slightly rigid and wouldn't quite meet their gazes.

"Whats going on?" Ryu demanded of Yoh.

Yoh chuckled, scratching the back of his head as he tried to come up with the best way to say this. "Well, you see, umm...Hao was being controlled by the evil Shadow King, and well, now he's not..." Yoh's voice trailed off, knowing perfectly well that his explanation didn't fully cover what exactly was going on.

"Uh huh," Faust said, looking from Yoh, to Ayamae, to Hao. "So you're saying that Hao is good now?"

"Basically, yeah," said Yoh with another nervous chuckle.

"But, how can you trust him, after everything he's done?" Lyserg asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring angrily at Hao. "Or are you forgetting all the evil he's done? All the people he's killed?"

Hao flinched at this, lowering his eyes to the ground. He should have expected this, but the thought of explaining himself to Yoh's friends had fled his mind in the joy that had flooded him when he held Aya in his arms again, after so long. Of course they would still blame him for all the bad things he had done, and they'd be right to, because he had done them. He had listened to that voice in his head for a thousand years. Had allowed it to poison his mind, his thoughts, his actions. And now, he was paying the price. He should just leave now. Leave, and never see anyone again. Hao slowly dropped his arms from around Aya's waist and took a step back from her. Aya looked up at him with a startled expression, and took note of the forlorn expression on Hao's face. Turning, she faced Lyserg and the others.

"I know he's done some really bad things in the past, but you have to believe me, it couldn't be helped. Trust me when I say that the Shadow King's grasp on one's mind is a powerful thing. One that takes a lot of courage and love to break, especially after it being in your head for a thousand years. But I'm telling you now, I know Hao is back to the kind and gentle person he was a thousand years ago. I can feel it," Ayamae said, meeting the eyes of the others one by one.

"Yeah, and how do you know?" Chocolove asked, staring accusingly at Ayamae. "How can we trust what Hao has to say? Hmm?"

"Because," Ayamae began, glancing back at Hao. "I was with him a thousand years ago. I was married to him a thousand years ago, and I know him better than I think he even knows himself. It was my fault that the Shadow King was able to gain a foothold in Hao's heart."

Everyone stared at Ayamae, their mouths opening and closing, but not quite sure what to say.

Finally, a cold, bored voice spoke up. "I'm hungry," Anna said, making everyone jump and stare at her. "Let's hurry back to the inn so you can make me food."

Yoh smiled, reaching back and taking hold of her hand. "Okay, lets go." Then turning back to the others, he faced Hao deliberately. "_All_ of us."

"I still don't trust him," Ren said, not moving from where he stood. "For all we know, this could be a trap."

"Yeah," Horohoro pitched in. "He could be waiting for all of us to fall asleep, and then, the next thing we know, BAM! He'll kill us all in our sleep."

"Then you better sleep with one eye open," Ayamae said, grabbing Hao's hand and tugging him towards the inn. "Come on, I'm starving."

"Aya, I..." Hao began, tugging Ayamae back over to him and looking into her face. "I don't know...they don't trust me...I think I'll just be causing trouble if I come...maybe, I should just, I don't know..."

"Hao," Ayamae said, placing a finger over his lips. "Shhh, its okay. The important thing is that I trust you. And Anna and Yoh trust you too. The others will learn, and despite what they say, they trust Yoh's judgment more than they will admit. Sometimes, I think they trust Yoh more than they trust themselves. It'll be okay, I promise."

Hao nodded, a soft smile lighting his features.

"Besides," Ayamae continued as they followed the rest of the rather large group into the inn. "They're going to need your help when they face the Shadow King. Because he's coming, I can feel it. He's coming, and he's not very happy with any of us."

***

Yay! I finished this chapter. Sorry it was sooo long in coming. I hope you enjoyed it, and I will try to update more often! I promise...After MIDTERMS! AHHHHHHHHHHH! Anyways, please review, it makes me happy and helps me to continue writing. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering about Manta, and why I haven't exactly made him a main shaman, everything will be explained...

Thanks again for reading! Yeah, I know it's kinda short, but I find chapters are easier to read that way!...


	15. Chapter 15

Well...I still have 1 exam and 3 finals!!! but I decided I wanted to update. Its been too long in coming and I apologize, my muse left me with writers block and I just didn't know how to continue...but, we'll give it a shot. I need to unwind before I begin the final stretch of classes. Besides, when you start dreaming of the chemical formations of histidine and phenylalanine, well, I think its time to take a break! :)

So, here's the next chapter. Thanks to all you readers out there for hanging in there with me. Life's been pretty stressful. I also appreciate all you other wonderful authors out there who keep me entertained when I don't know what to write! Thanks!

**Chapter 15: A Big Family Dinner**

Ayamae and Hao watched as the group entered the kitchen, but lingered outside for just a minute longer.

"Aya, how can I ever make up for what I did to them. To all of them. I tried to kill them, multiple times, I even killed some of their family members and friends. I don't know if I can do this. Maybe it would be best if I just left."

"If you leave, I'm leaving with you," Ayamae said, tightening her grip on Hao's hand. "I can't live without you, especially now I know you're back to who you truly are. What you did before, it wasn't really you Hao. The Shadow King is pure evil, and he has many powers that we can't even begin to comprehend, it many people have been deceived by him. And he had power over you for a thousand years. Its a miracle that you could even break free of his grip. Yoh and the others are going to need all the help they can get, but if you want to leave, we go can together."

Hao looked at her, surprised. "You just told me the Shadow King is coming earlier. The reason you're here now is to prepare Yoh and his friends. You can't come with me, you have to stay and help the others. Otherwise, you know what will happen to this world."

Ayamae looked at him calmly. "Without your help Hao, the others won't be able to stop the world from being dragged into the shadows. You mentioned you've done so much evil in the past, well, now is your chance to make amends. It's true, the Shadow King is coming, even though he lost power when you broke free of him, he has gained enough power over the thousands of years that he is close, closer to the surface than I am comfortable with. So, like a said, Yoh and the others _will _need your help. But if you chose to leave, I would rather be with you at the end of the world, then trying to fight a losing battle."

"But, Yoh and the others, they've become quite strong. I was surprised, fighting them when I did. It was a struggle to keep up with Yoh. You've done a good job with them. Besides, I doubt they would even want my help," Hao said, looking down at their intertwined fingers.

"Hao!" Aya snapped, putting ice on the edge of her voice. Hao jumped, then smiled. This was the voice Aya used to get him into shape. The voice that said, you will listen to me, or else. "Enough with the pity party. So, you didn't give the other's the best first impression, or second, or third...but that doesn't matter. Whether they like it or not, they are going to need your help. Besides, remember the first few times we met?"

Hao smiled at that. "You thought that I was the biggest jerk in the world," he whispered softly. He remembered that day quite well, even though it was a thousand years ago. "I tripped you in the street because I couldn't figure where I was. You smacked me upside the head and stormed off. You tried everything you could think of to shake me off when I started following you. Going so far as to cry out in the street that I was attacking you. You finally agreed to help me after you realized I was a shaman. You wanted to train with me, so together we could come closer to nature, and help the world." Hao smiled at the memory. "I think it was the first time in my life that I actually cried."

Ayamae grinned, also remembering all the trouble she had caused him, when he obviously just wanted directions. Then, together they began the amazing journey to the far reaches of the earth, learning the power that shamans had. It was sometime when they found the spirits they now carried, the Spirit of Fire and the Spirit of Wind, but they had enjoyed the journey on the way. And then Hao had surprised her by proposing to her. Ayamae didn't think she would ever want to marry anyone. It would tie her down, and she wanted to travel the world. But with Hao, she knew she could marry, and still achieve her dream.

Both of them were standing outside, holding hands, lost in memories long ago lost, when Anna poked her head out.

"Hao! Are you going to keep her outside, cold and hungry, or are you going to bring her in and get her something to eat?"

Hao jumped, staring at Anna. She was so similar to Ayamae, he could understand why Yoh loved her so much.

"_WELL?_" Anna pressed.

Laughed lightly, something he hadn't done in a long time, he tugged Ayamae (who was trying to suppress her grin at Anna's antics) and they both followed Anna inside.

The chatter died down as soon as they entered the kitchen, and all eyes turned and fixed of Hao. He stopped and shifted uneasily, but Aya tugged him over by where Yoh and Anna were sitting, and pulled him to sit next to her.

Everyone watched as Hao sat down. Hao kept him eyes down, not knowing what to say, or how to say it.

The silence was finally broken by Yoh, who suddenly burst out laughing at the expressions on everyone's face. "You all...look...like..." Yoh said, gasping for breaths between the words. "Like...you've just seen... just...seen...a...a...a ghost!" Yoh finally got out, unable to stop his laughing. Anna rolled her eyes and everyone turned to stare, shocked, at Yoh. Then, getting the irony of it, the table was suddenly filled with laughter. Hao let a smile escape his lips and turned to look at Ayamae, who was now biting her lip to keep from laughing as well. He saw a similar expression cross Anna's face, and couldn't help but join the rest of the bunch in laughing. Glancing sideways at Yoh, he met his brother's eyes and mouthed two words to him.

_Thank you._

Yoh nodded, still laughing quite hysterically. Finally, everyone got themselves under control, and started dishing out the food.

Ren looked over at Hao, staring him straight in the eye. "I still don't trust you, but, because Yoh wants you here, you can stay."

Hao looked at him, shocked, while Anna snorted into her food. Both Ayamae and Anna had been able to keep from joining everyone else in the laughing (although they were sure later tonight they would both enjoy some good laughs together).

"What?" Ren asked, looking at Anna.

"That's awfully nice of you to say," Anna drawled. "Considering you are also a guest here. I think I should start charging you all rent. I could make a lot of money that way."

Sweat drops formed on everyone but Anna's and Ayamae's head. Ayamae grinned. "It's true, you should charge them all for room and board."

"Then you should be charged too," Horohoro said, panicking slightly.

"Nope," Ayamae said, grinning.

Anna grinned too, both of them cold, calculating grins. "Cause she's family," Anna said.

"She's not-" Ryu began, but cut off when he realized what they meant. Ayamae had been married to Hao, who is Yoh's brother. "Oh."

Ayamae and Anna looked at each other, then quickly looked away, trying to keep from laughing at the looks on the faces around the table.

"So, uh, these are really good green beans!" Yoh said, breaking the atmosphere the two girls seemed to so easily make.

Chocolove caught on. "Really good mean jeans!" Chocolove shouted.

"What does that even mean?" Ren said.

"You're jokes don't even make sense!" Horohoro shouted at him.

Two minutes later, Pirika and Tamao burst out laughing. "Green...beans...mean...jeans...hahaha!" they both gasped, laughing more when the other laughed, until they could hardly breath.

Everyone sweat dropped this time, and continued their dinner.

Hao looked around, enjoying the atmosphere he felt here, among Yoh's friends.

_I can do this, _he thought to himself. _With Yoh's help, and of course, _he glanced down at Ayamae, who smiled up at him. _I can do this. They might not forgive me, but I can help them save the world. You hear me, Shadow King, I will help them defeat you! I will promise you that. There is no way you are going to get your way! We _will _defeat you._

***

Well, that's it for now folks – I've gotta go to work, but I will update as soon as possible!

Some of you have been asking me about Manta being a shaman. Don't worry, I'll get there.

Don't forget to review! Reviews make me happy, and when I'm happy, my muse comes to find me!!!

Thanks for reading!


	16. Chapter 16

First off I would like to apologize for any spelling/grammatical/punctual/nonsense/etc that occur throughout the story. I post the chapters right after I write them and then I'm generally not in the mood (or don't have time) to go back and correct my mistakes, so, sorry...

Anyways, now that thats over, on with the story.

(Oh, haven't done this in awhile – I don't own any of the Shaman King characters! I'm not quite that creative!)

**Chapter 16: The Quest Begins **

The next day found everyone relaxing in the sun outside of the hotel. It had been a stressful night, and most of the guests had a hard time sleeping with a certain evil shaman turned good, so, combined with everything, Anna and Ayamae had decided that it would be best just to give everyone some time off to chill out and relax.

Ren, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, glanced back over to where Ayamae and Hao were sitting up against a tree. Hao had his arm around Ayamae's shoulders and both of them seemed fascinated by a blue bird that had perched on the branch above him.

"I don't get it," a voice interupted Ren as he thought about the complete change in Hao from the one they knew. Sighing, he turned and faced Horohoro.

"You don't get what?" he drawled, stifling a yawn.

"Hao. He's so different."

"I still don't trust him, no matter how he acts," another voice chimed in as Lyserg plopped down next to Ren and Horohoro.

"Yeah, its just weird," Ryu said, lifting his head for a minute, then laying it back down.

"I mean, does he honestly expect us to believe that he just, I don't know, decided to be good, all for a girl?" Chocolove said, joining the group of his friends.

"Love is a powerful emotion, young master," Bason said, poofing out of nowhere behind Ren.

Ren snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Don't you trust Yoh? I do, so I know that we are in no danger from having Hao with us," Faust said, as he and Eliza joined the group to sit outside.

Everyone looked around a little guiltily, their eyes coming to rest on Yoh, who was reclined in the grass, hands behind his head, his head bobbing slightly to the music he was listening to from his headphones. Anna, who was sitting next to him, had a scowl on her face, but there was a softness to her eyes as she relaxed next to her fiancé.

The uncomfortable silence surrounding the group began to grow, but just then, Manta came outside, looking to see where everyone was.

"Hey!" he called, looking around the yard.

Yoh lifted his hand in greeting and everyone else called a greeting. Manta walked over and sat next to Yoh, striking up a one-sided conversation.

Finally, Jun stood up from the group, Bailong following her, and they went off a little ways from the group to look around. Tamao and Pirika followed suit, talking in excited whispers about the cute guy they had met the other day when all the girls had been out shopping. They had seen him again when they went with Jun to pick up groceries, and he had said 'hi' to them. It had caused them both the blush and run off. Faust was cuddling Eliza, so the others finally just went back to enjoying the sunny day and the time off from training.

Ayamae looked up to watch the group of people she considered good friends. Anna, was of course, watching Yoh, and Ayamae knew the scowl was just a show. Yoh was as relaxed as ever, taking the opportunity to laze around with Manta sitting next to him. The others were sitting around talking, and Ayamae wondering what exactly they were saying.

"They're talking about me," Hao said, following her line of sight.

Ayamae laughed. "Of course they're talking about you, they still don't know what to think of you. I was just wondering exactly what they were saying."

"Oh," was all the reply she got.

"Hao, it'll just take some time for them to sort things out in their mind. Don't worry, they're smart people, they just have to get their emotions under control."

Hao sighed, absentmindedly tracing patterns on Ayamae's shoulder as he watched the clouds scuttle across the sky.

"Aya, there's something I need to tell you," he said after a long pause.

"What is it?" Ayamae asked, sitting up straighter from her relaxed position in his arms.

Hao didn't say anything for a while, then finally sighed. "Its about the Shadow King. I know something about his plan, and I think I can stop it."

"What is it?"

"Well, he told me that after I killed you and Yoh and the others off, that I needed to get something for him. A weapon of some sort. He said it was vital for my, well, I guess I should say his, plans."

"Hao, why didn't you mention this before?" Ayamae said, glaring at him for keeping such information from her.

"I had forgotten all about it until just now."

"We need to go get it, before he finds someone else to get it for him. Do you know where it is?"

Hao nodded. "I have a pretty good idea as to where it is. I'm pretty sure I could find it."

"Good," Ayamae said, standing up and brushing the grass off her. "I think we should get going as soon as possible."

"Wha?" Hao said, reeling slightly from the abruptness of it all.

"Well, the Shadow King certainly isn't going to wait around while we dilly dally," Ayamae stated as Hao struggled to get up behind her.

Anna looked up as Ayamae came towards her.

"What's up?" she asked her best friend.

"We have a plan that could possibly stop the Shadow King from rising," Ayamae said.

Yoh sat up immediately, proof that he's more aware of whats going on around him then he lets on. "Really?" he asked, looking from Ayamae to Hao.

"Yep," Ayamae said, her eyes drawn towards the others and they all walked over to see what was going on. "Apparently, the Shadow King has some sort of weapon that he needs, so we're going to steal it before he can get his hands on it."

"We?" Ren asked looking at the rather large group of people around him.

"Aya, we can't all go," Hao said, also noticing the group. "It could be dangerous."

Aya looked at him, and read the unspoken thought in his eyes. _I don't want you to go._ She sighed, then an idea came to her.

"Well then, we can't all go, you take the gang-" she motioned to Yoh and the other shamans "-and the rest of us will stay here."

"Wait," Anna said, holding up her hand. "Where exactly is this weapon?"

"In Egypt," Hao said simply.

Anna frowned. "I think we should all stay together as much as possible. How about we all go together, then you guys can do the hard part."

Ayamae smiled. "I like it, sounds like a plan."

Everyone else just looked around with slightly raised eyebrows.

Yoh and Hao both opened their mouths to protest this, but Anna and Ayamae turned on them, saying at the same time and in the same tone of voice.

"That's what we're doing and thats final. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, no," Yoh and Hao both mumbled, looking for all the world like a couple of kids who got caught red handed with their hands in the cookie jar.

"Okay, then lets start packing," Ayamae said.

"Shorty, get us a plane, I want to leave in two hours," Anna said, following Ayamae back inside.

"Well," Yoh said, breaking the stunned silence and glancing at his brother. He smiled slightly at the look on Hao's face, then faced his other friends.

"Get to it!" Anna's voice called outside, and everyone rushed to get their things together as Manta made a quick phone call.

Two hours later found them seated on one of the Oyamada airplanes, buckling up for their flight to Egypt.

After take off, everyone took their seat belts off, stretching their legs and standing up.

Manta found himself seated across from Hao and Ayamae, who was currently staring out the window.

"So, Manta is it?" Hao asked, studying his brother's friend.

"Yeah," Manta said, squinting his eyes cautiously.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Manta asked, shifting a little nervously.

"Why aren't you, I don't know, going through shaman training? I mean, you have a guardian spirit, don't you. And you've used him before, haven't you. I thought, what with Yoh being your, um, friend and all, you'd be training with him and the others." Hao finished speaking, watching Manta carefully.

Manta sighed and looked down. "Yeah, I have Mosuke, but I'm not a very good shaman, and I normally just get into trouble." Manta gasped and looked up at Hao. He hadn't wanted to say that much, but it had come out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Hao gave Manta a questioning look, then nodded his head, not wanting to push the subject as it was obviously not something Manta really wanted to talk about, especially with him. Neither boy saw the calculating look Ayamae was giving Manta.

***

Yay! I finished the next chapter. Hopefully that cleared a few things up, but who knows.

Thanks for reading and sticking with me! Hope to find more reviews, they always make me happy!

Once again, sorry for any mistakes, and if something is really bothering you, please, let me know, be it spelling mistake, or something about the story, and I'll see what I can do to fix it.


	17. Chapter 17

Sorry its been so long since I've updated.

Thanks to all you readers out there, it makes me happy to know that my story is being read. Hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 17: Chocolove's Friend**

They landed in Egypt as the sun was setting, sending a chill wind across the open area of the airport. The group piled out of the airplane and into the open air, taking deep breaths of the fresh air after the stuffy plane.

"Where to?" Ayamae asked, turning towards Hao with one eyebrow raised.

"Umm...well, we have to find a place for you all to stay, first," Hao said, looking around as if hoping a hotel would pop up out of nowhere.

"I know a place," Chocolove said, raising his hand and jumping up and down. Everyone turned to look at him.

"And how would you know where to go?" Ren asked, skeptical.

"I have a friend who lives nearby. He lives in this huge house, all by himself. I'm sure he'll let us stay there with him while we're here."

"Perfect," Anna said, a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Ayamae's smile matched Anna's. "Now we won't have to pay for food or lodging," she said, finishing Anna's thought.

Yoh and Hao both opened their mouths, but glances from Anna and Ayamae made them quickly change their minds, snapping their jaws shut.

"We should move," Faust stated simply, pointing at the incoming airplane. Nodding, they all quickly made their way off the runway.

They caught a cab and soon found themselves in front of Chocolove's friend's house.

"This place is huge!" Horohoro commented, as they admired the Egyptian-like architecture of the house.

Chocolove opened his mouth, and was immediately poked in the nose by Ren.

"Ow! What was that for?" Chocolove complained, jumping up and down in pain.

"Sorry, habit," Ren said, not looking sorry at all. "Just didn't want you to go spouting off one of your idiot jokes is all."

Chocolove stopped jumping up and down and glared at Ren, finally, he motioned for everyone to follow, and they made their way to the front door. Chocolove reached up and rang the doorbell. After several minutes of waiting, a large black man in his late twenties opened the door.

The man's dark brown eyes swept across the group of assorted friends, finally coming to rest on Chocolove, making his mouth break into a huge smile.

"Choco! What brings you all the way to Egypt? And with all your friends as well?" the man said in a deep baritone.

"We just have some business to take care of down here, and we were wondering if we could stay here," Chocolove explained.

"Of course, of course," the man said, gesturing them inside. "Please, come in, come in. I'll have Dalila get us a snack. Dalila!"

"Yes?" a pretty woman with long black hair appeared out of nowhere.

"We have company, could you bring us some refreshments?"

The woman smiled. "Of course, love," she said, and with that, disappeared down the hall.

The man turned back to the crowd of shamans and friends. "That was Dalila, my wife. My name is Asim, Asim Hassan."

"You're a shaman," Hao said, eying the man.

Asim chuckled. "Why yes, I am."

Everyone stared at him as the silence stretched, Chocolove off to the side, for once at a loss for words.

Finally, Ayamae stepped forward, holding out her hand. "Asim, huh, doesn't that mean 'protector' in Egyptian?" she asked, shaking his hand firmly as he nodded. "I'm Ayamae Kinomori, its a pleasure to meet you."

"And its a pleasure to meet you too, young lady," Asim said, returning her firm grip. "Ayamae, doesn't that mean 'iris'?"

Ayamae smiled. "It does. I'm surprised you know that, not many people do, after all."

Asim chuckled again. "Names interest me," he explained with a shrug. He then turned to the rest of the group. "Now, who's next?"

***

Yay! I finally finished another chapter! Sorry its been so long, I've had something akin to writer's block...

Yoh: If you mean reading novel length fanfics online for hou-

Me: -Yoh, be quiet!

Yoh: Ow! You didn't have to step on my foot, I was just telling them the-

Me: Just, be quiet, or I'll call Anna-chan...

Hao: I think she means it, Yoh.

Me: Not a word out of you either, Hao, or Aya-chan will hear about it.

Hao and Yoh: Shutting up now.

Me: _Sigh_ – I'll try to update soon! Thanks for reading! =^-^=


	18. Chapter 18

Me: Finally! I'm updating! Sorry it took so long, but life goes on!

Hao: (snorts) Yeah, you're just saying that because you said you'd update soon and its been months and months and-

Me: Hao, I'm warning you!

Yoh: I want to join in niichan.

Hao and Yoh: Months and months and-

Me: ANNA! AYAMAE!

Hao and Yoh: Shutting up now!

Ayamae and Anna: Why, you have a valid point.

Hao and Yoh: O__0 whaaaatt!

Me: Everyone's picking on me.

Anna: Well, you've been lost in-

Me: (chuckles) Hehehe, well, on with the show! er Story!

**Chapter 18: Good Friends**

The group was just finishing getting settled into their rooms when they heard Dalila call them to dinner.

"Yay," Yoh said, stretching his arms in the air. "I'm starving."

Hao chuckled, shaking his head. _Only Yoh could be starving after all the snacks he ate earlier._

Once in the dinning hall they all praised the spread of food before them, then began to dig in. _I take back my earlier thought, _Hao thought wryly, eyes wandering the table to the other boys chowing down. _I guess Yoh isn't the only one who eats a lot._ As his eyes moved around the table they came to rest on Ayamae's and he smiled at her. She smiled back, ducking her head as a blush, a _blush_, crossed her features.

_I can't believe he caught me staring at him like some love sick puppy. I mean, I love him, but I should be past the stage of staring and blushing._ Hoping her blush had faded enough, she looked back up, stealing one last glance at Hao before turning to Delila.

"You're an amazing cook, Delila," Ayamae said.

"Thank you," Delila said, beaming at the compliment. "Its not often I get to cook for a lot of people."

Ayamae smiled. "I wish I could cook, but pretty much every time I try, I end up burning it."

"Oh, that can't be true, you just have to practice," Delila said, a smile playing across her lips.

"Oh its true alright," Anna pipped up, suppressing a giggle as she remembered all the mishaps that Ayamae had made when they were little. "She can even burn water if you don't watch her."

"Anna," Ayamae half pouted, half laughed. "I thought you promised you would never tell anyone about that!"

Anna just laughed and ducked as a roll came flying at her head.

Delila giggled and the rest of the group looked up from their conversation to find what was so funny. Quickly, Delila, Anna, and Ayamae schooled their features into the perfect pictures of innocence.

Asim chuckled, having been able to follow both discussions and enjoying the look of confusion on everyone else's faces. Finally, they all shook their heads and went back to their discussion.

"Delila," Anna said, laughter showing in her eyes. "I think we're going to be good friends."

***

Hao: You call that an update, it was so short.

Me: well, its late and i want to go to bed

Yoh: No, you want to-

Me: SHUT UP (stomps on their feet). Hehe, anyways I'll update again soon, I promise.

Ayamae: cause we all know how well that goes!

Me: SHHHH! Please R&R it helps me write! Bye bye now! =^-^=


	19. Chapter 19

Me: Yay! I updated again, even though nobody reveiwed my last chapter :(

Ren: Review your last chapter, who would want to do that?

Me: what do you mean?

Horohoro: Well, I was really short, and boring...

Yoh: Come on guys, I didn't think it was that bad.

Hao: Face it Yoh, it stunk.

Me: (pouting) everyone's being mean again!

Anna: At least she updated again pretty quickly.

Ayamae: Thats true.

Me: Aww, thanks guys (hugs)

Yoh: Anyway, Rosimae doesn't own shaman king, she just writes about it. Enjoy!

**Chapter Nineteen: Departure**

"We really need to get going," Hao said, looking at the other shamans and waiting for them to finish getting ready.

"Well, Mr. Get up at the crack of dawn so now I'm grumpy, you can wait two more minutes," Ren said, shoving one last thing into his backpack.

Hao grumbled and rolled his eyes, turning away from the rest of the group to come face to face with Ayamae.

"Aya!" Hao said, surprised she was right there. "What's wrong?" he asked after seeing her worried gaze.

"Hao, I," Ayamae said, then sighed, shook her head and smiled. "Nothing, promise you'll look after yourself and the others."

Hao grinned, "Don't worry, I will."

***

Over on the other side of the room, Anna and Yoh were having much the same conversation.

"I'll be alright Anna. Ren, Hao, and the others will be there to watch my back," Yoh said, hands resting on Anna's shoulders so he could look her in the eyes.

Anna sighed. "I know, its just...I have a bad feeling about this. Something doesn't feel right about you leaving." (Me: Dun dun dun...what could this mean for our favorite shamans? Yoh: Rosimae, would you please go on with the story. Me: oh, sorry).

Yoh smiled and pulled Anna into a hug. "Everything will work out," he whispered in her ear. "I promise."

Anna pulled away and nodded. "Then hurry up already," she said, her voice turning icy again. "Everyone, get a move on!"

Everyone jumped at that, turning to look at Anna, who glared at them with her hands on her hips. Ayamae laughed and pushed Hao to the door while the others followed.

"Take care!" Dalila called to the departing shamans.

"Don't worry about us, we'll be alright!" Asim called.

"Bye, be safe," Jun called, waving enthusiastically.

"B...bye Yoh!" Tamao stuttered, then looked down, blushing.

"Be careful big brother!" Pirika shouted.

"Good luck!" Manta called.

"Alright," Ayamae said, turning to face Manta. "Now that they're gone, we can work on your training."

Manta stood there, stunned. "You're going to train me?" he finally blurted out.

Ayamae giggled, "Not me, silly. I would be a poor teacher for you, considering I didn't even realize your potential as a shaman. No, Asim is going to teach you."

Manta looked up, way up, at the towering black man. Asim grinned. "Well, I am a shaman, and I focus more on defense, than on offense, which is how you work, is it not?"

Manta nodded and Asim's grin widened. "Well then, lets begin."

***

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Anna asked, watching Manta train as the ideally stirred her drink with her finger.

"Uh huh," Ayamae grunted, flopping on her back. "Ugh, I hate this heat. Sorry Delila, but its too hot and dry here."

Delila laughed. "It does take some getting used to," she said, also watching Manta train. "I'll go get some more drinks."

"I'll help," Pirika and Tamao said at the same time, jumping up and following Delila back in.

Once they were gone, Anna looked around to see Jun off in the garden, then turned her eyes back on Ayamae. "You feeling alright?" she asked.

Ayamae laid there, staring up at the sky for so long, Anna didn't think she was going to answer. "I'm just tired, and I have a headache. I dunno, maybe its jet lag, or the heat," Ayamae finally answered, throwing an arm across her eyes to shield them from the sun.

Anna looked at her worriedly. Ayamae never got headaches, and she'd been in hotter weather than this. "Maybe you should go lie down inside and take it easy," Anna stated bluntly. Ayamae would probably refuse, but it was worth a shot.

Ayamae lay there for a few more minutes, before finally nodding and slowly standing up. "I think I will," she said tiredly, before turning and entering the house, heading up to where her room was.

Anna sat there, stunned. Ayamae never did anything like that. She never admitted to feeling anything less then 100%, and now she was admitting she had a headache and even went inside to bed!

_I hope she'll be okay after some rest,_ Anna thought as she watched Jun walk up to her.

"Hey, Anna-chan," Jun called.

"Hey," Anna answered.

Jun looked toward the house. "Where'd Aya-chan go?"

"She went in the house to take a nap," Anna put it simply as the other girls came out carrying drinks and calling the two remaining boys over for a break.

"Is everything alright?" Delila asked, having heard Anna's excuse.

Anna shrugged. "She just needed to get out of the heat, I think," Anna replied, before silently added, _I hope._

_***_

Me: Yay another chapter finished!

Hao: wait, what's going on with Aya?

Me: You'll just have to wait to find out.

Yoh: And where'd the Shadow King go? We haven't heard from him in a while.

Me: Just be patient.

Ren: Where's all the fighting?

Me: we're getting to it.

Chocolove: can I tell a joke?

Me: No, now enough with the questions!!! Anyways, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it! More to come soon!


	20. Chapter 20

Me: Yay! I'm soooooo happy! I got reviews!!! :) Humhumhum. I just had to update! So, for you reviewers, this is for you!!!

Hao: I think she's on something.

Yoh: No, that's just what reviews do to her.

Hao: Wow, I don't think I've ever seen her jumping up and down, are you sure she's not on something?

Me: (shaking head) nope, only on the happiness reviews give me! :)

Anna: Anyway, Rosimae doesn't own Shaman King, but here's the next chapter-

**Chapter 20: Nightmares and Training**

_Ayamae was running. She didn't know what she was running from, and everything around her was completely black. She couldn't even see her hand in front of her face. All she knew was that something was after her. She turned around while she continued to run, peering into the darkness in the hopes of finding out just _what _was chasing her. _

_'Ayamae' she heard a voice calling out to her. 'Why do you run? What are you really afraid?'_

_The voice sounded like it was right next to her, and Ayamae gave a start, wondering at what it meant._

_'I'm running from you!' she called behind herself, trying to pick up her pace, although her legs felt like lead._

_'Are you really? Or are you running from something else?' the voice whispered in her ear._

_Ayamae jumped, tripped, and fell. And kept falling. Everything was endless shadows as she fell down, down, down..._

Ayamae hit the floor with a thump and sat up, looking around. She was sitting on the floor of the bedroom that was hers while she lived with Asim and Delila. Pale moonlight was filtering in through the open window, while the curtains fluttered in the soft breeze. Ayamae pushed her silvery black hair from her face with a shaking hand.

Finally, when her breathing slowed down, Ayamae stood up, dumping the sheets back onto the bed in an unorganized heap. Grabbing a few things, Ayamae headed to the bathroom, thinking that a cool shower might help calm her down. _I haven't had a nightmare like that for six years now,_ she thought as she stood under the stream of chilly water.

***

"Hey Aya-chan, how are you feeling today?" Jun asked as Ayamae made her way down to breakfast.

Ayamae smiled. "Much better, thanks. I think I was just tired."

Jun and the others nodded. It has been quite the trip out to Egypt, then it was nonstop preparations for the quest Yoh and the others had undertaken.

Ayamae turned to Manta. "So, how is training going?"

Manta looked up as her, a small smile creeping onto his features. "Well, I finally learned how to call Mosuke from my laptop, although I'm still having trouble with the Hyoi Gattai."

Asim chuckled. "You're coming along fine, Manta-kun. Without any previous training, I'm surprised you've been able to do the things you've done so far."

Manta looked down, suddenly finding his plate of toast and bacon very interesting as a blush crept across his features. "Yeah, but I still need lots of training," he said.

"Speaking of training," came Tamao's small voice. "It's been a while since I've trained. Do, do you think that I could maybe join you today?"

Ayamae grinned. "I wouldn't mind the exercise myself," she said, while adding to herself, _and if I train hard enough, maybe I'll wear myself out enough that those nightmares won't come back._

Anna turned to look at Jun. "What about you, I haven't seen you train for quite a while. Maybe we should join them."

Jun smiled. "Maybe, although, it might be harder on the new ones, what with our different magics getting in the way. I mean, I'm a Daoshi, and you're an itako."

Anna smiled turned to a grin. "That'll just help speed their training along," she said, eyes glinting.

Manta and Tamao gulped audibly. "Y...you want to join u..us?" Tamao stuttered.

Jun smiled again. "Sure why not, it'd be fun," she said shrugging.

Manta and Tamao just nodded, completely at a loss. _I'm not sure I want to train with them practicing with us, _Manta thought as he hurried to grab his laptop.

Delila and Pirika walked outside with the others, watching as Asim lead Manta and Tamao through some warm ups while Anna, Jun, and Ayamae worked on their own warm ups.

"Well," Delila began. "If they're going to be training this morning, I'd better whip something good up for lunch. They'll all be hungry when they're through."

Pirika nodded. "Do you mind if I help you, I never was one for shaman abilities and what not."

(Me: A/N I don't know if Pirika is a shaman or what, but in my story she is not.)

Dalila smiled at the younger girl. "Sure, I can always use help in the kitchen, even if I was only cooking for my husband. He eats a lot, especially after training." Delila finished that last part with a giggle, that was followed by a giggle from Pirika.

"I know what you mean. My brother's a pig when it comes to eating, no matter what!"

***

Me: Yay! I finished another chappie!

Yoh: Yeah, but it was kinda short.

Hao: That's because she's just lazy and would rather spend her time reading other fanfics.

Me: Hey that's not entirely true.......

...

...

Although I have gotten into quite a bit of other fanfics lately... Anyway, the reason this one is so short is because I have a loooooooonnnngggg day tommorrow starting at four am and not ending till after midnight.

Yoh: Are you in shaman training.

Me: nope. Anyways, I'll try to update soon. Also I appreciate the reviews that ask me questions, it helps get my creative juices flowing. Plus, I want to know, what should this secret weapon be that the boys are after? And whats up with Ayamae, any guesses?

Well, until next time - Bye bye now!


	21. Chapter 21

Rosimae: Yay! I'm updating again! Sorry it took so long, school is so annoying!

Yoh: Then just do what I do, wear headphones and sleep. Makes school much more enjoyable.

Hao: Yeah, but Yoh, you're failing all your classes.

Yoh: "..."

Rosimae: Anyway, hope you enjoy the story. We're leaving Manta, Asim, and the girls and checking up on Hao and the others! ^-^

**Chapter 21: With Yoh and the Gang**

Yoh and the others had been hiking in silence for the first few hours of the trip, due to the early hours of the morning. Ren blinked, shaking off the sleepy fog that refused to leave his mind. Finally, after a huge yawn, he looked over at Yoh.

Yoh was walking with his hands behind his head, a small smile playing on his lips as he thought about Anna. He was liking the softer side of Anna more and more, although he still loved her no matter what.

"So Yoh," Ren said, a wicked grin spreading across his features. "What's up with you and Anna lately. She seems a lot nicer."

Yoh blushed, turning to his friends. "Nothings 'up' as you put it."

"_Right," _said Horohoro, throwing an arm around Yoh's shoulders. "That's why you've gotten all lovey-dovey on us."

"I have not-" Yoh began, but was cut off.

"There's nothing wrong with love," said Faust, who was holding hands with Eliza and gazing into her eyes.

"Yuck," said Chocolove, turning away from the older shaman as hearts floated all around him.

Lyserg smiled, watching as his friends teased each other.

"What about you, Lyserg, anybody waiting at home for you?" Ryu asked, causing a blush to form on Lyserg's cheeks.

"So there is someone," Horohoro exclaimed, noting the blush. "Who is she? Do we know her? Is she pretty? What's she like? Hmm? Well, are you going to answer?"

Yoh laughed. "You're not even giving him enough time to answer," he said. Yoh then glanced around to the member of the group that had yet to make a comment. "You okay Hao?"

"Hmm?" Hao asked, looking up at Yoh. "What? Oh, yeah, just thinking."

"About Aya-san?" Ren asked. Hao looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, not that I like you or anything, just asking is all. Remember, I still don't trust you."

Hao chuckled. "Yeah, I was thinking about Aya, not that its any of your business."

"Aww, Hao's in love," Chocolove said. "Who'd thought that would happen."

Hao blushed, quickly turning away from the others. "We need to head in this direction," he said, changing the subject.

"Hey, how do you know where we're going, anyways?" Ryu asked, shouldering his wooden sword.

"Yeah, what makes you so sure that way is the right way?" Lyserg put in, eying Hao distrustfully.

Hao turned back to them. "Can't you feel it?" he asked.

"Feel what?" Horohoro asked, looking around as though he might find the answer.

Ren snorted, "Figures you idiots wouldn't be able to feel it."

"What?" Chocolove asked.

"The evil energy, its coming from that direction," Yoh said, pointing to where Hao was trying to lead them. "Its not very strong yet, but its there."

Ren nodded, knowing. "Yep, and only the best shamans would be able to feel it at this point," he added snidely.

"Hey! I could feel it, I was, just testing you is all," Horohoro claimed.

"Yeah, we were just testing to see if anyone else could tell," Chocolove and Ryu put in. Lyserg remained quiet, closing his eyes and focusing until he could feel the energy that Hao, Yoh, and Ren spoke of.

"Well, we won't get anything done if we sit here talking, will we?" Yoh asked.

"Hey, what's your hurry?" Horohoro asked, as he and the others sped up to catch up to Yoh and Hao.

"I don't want to keep Anna waiting very long," Yoh said, laughing and rubbing the back of his head. "She'll get mad at me if we take longer than necessary. But, I could always blame it on you."

"Oh, no, you are not sicking your girlfriend on me," Horohoro said, waving his hands in front of him.

"Hey, she's not my girlfriend," Yoh said.

_Here we go again, _Hao thought, rolling his eyes.

"She's my fiancée," Yoh stated. Everyone sweat dropped.

"Well, if you're going to be specific," Ren said, rolling his eyes. "Hey, where's Faust?"

Everyone turned around looking for their missing friend.

"There he is," Lyserg said, pointing to where they had taken their break awhile ago. Faust was still hand in hand with Eliza, hearts still floating around them.

"Oi! Faust! We're leaving!" Yoh called. Faust looked up, and saw how far ahead of him the others had gotten.

"Oh, coming!" he called, walking at a leisurely pace while holding Eliza's hand.

"See what love does to you?" Horohoro asked, turning to Yoh and Hao.

Hao smiled, drifting into his own little world. "Yeah, but it sure is wonderful," he sighed, thinking of days long years in the past.

"Hey, snap out of it!" Yoh said, waving his hand in front of Hao.

"Right, we need to get going," Hao said.

"Who made you boss?" Ren grumbled.

"Me, since it was my plan," Hao smirked.

Everyone sighed, shaking their heads, then followed Hao off towards the mysterious object belonging to the Shadow King.

***

Rosimae: Well, what'd you think? Sorry if the characters were a little OOC....

Hao: Yeah, why am I all lovey dovey eww?

Rosimae: Cause you're in love, and you're good now, so you can be a little OOC

Yoh: Rosimae, I think you should thank your readers and reviewers

Rosimae: Right! Thanks for reading! And thanks for all of you who have reviewed my story! It spurs me on to write more.

P.S. it might be a little while before I can update again! Got a lot of tests coming up. Sheeesh who would have thought there were so many parts to the bones? Anyway, reviews help motivate me, so, yeah! Thanks again for reading!


	22. Chapter 22

**Hao: its about time you're updating!**

**Rosimae: so many tests...O_o sooooo many more quizzes ~_~**

**Yoh: 'waves hand in front of Rosimae' Hey, you okay in there?**

**Rosimae: 'shakes head' huh, yeah...Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!**

**Anna: Feel better now?**

**Rosimae: Yes, actually. Anyway, sorry it took so long, but school is EVIL, evil I tell you.**

**Manta: Come on, its not that bad.**

**Rosimae: Well, Mr. get 100% on everything, I'm not that good!!!**

**Manta: You just need to study more.**

**Rosimae: Why I study plenty. Its the insane idea teachers have that people can memorize all the bones in the body, all the parts of all the bones in the body, all the muscles in the body, everything in the world about fats, carbohydrates, proteins...**

**Hao: This could go on for a while. Anyway, Rosimae doesn't own Shaman King.**

**Yoh: Enjoy the chappie! ^-^**

**Hao: Are you on something Yoh?**

**Yoh: 'big innocent eyes' what do you mean**

**Hao: I mean, oh, never mind.**

**Chapter 22: Questions?**

"How much farther?" Horohoro asked, dragging his feet with every step he took.

"Oh, shut up and keep walking," Ren said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. Yoh and Hao were walking in front of them, deep in conversation with each other.

"I wonder what they're talking about?" Faust mussed, watching the twins.

"Who cares," Chocolove said, dragging his feet the same way Horohoro was.

"Are we there yet?" Horohoro asked. "I don't want to walk anymore."

"No, we still have a ways to go," Hao said, smiling as the other boys jumped upon finding him and Yoh standing in front of them. "Jeez, Yoh, were they always this whiny?"

At a look from his friends, Yoh decided to remain silent, favoring his laugh at this comment over an actual answer.

"And what's it to you?" Ren asked, getting face to face with Hao.

Hao smirked. "Nothing, it just surprises me that you can't handle a day of walking without complaining."

"I wasn't complaining!" Ren shouted back.

"Really?" Hao asked, raising his eyebrows. "Because, from the tone of your voice, it sure sounded-"

He was cut off as Ren punched him in the face.

"Jerk! I should teach you a lesson!" Ren shouted as Hao got back to his feet.

"Yeah, you wanna fight?" Hao asked, calling his spirit to him.

Ren growled, calling Bason to him as well.

"Nii-chan," Yoh said, laying a calming hand on Hao's arm.

Everyone blinked, looking at Yoh, than at Hao. That was the first time they had heard Yoh call Hao that. Hao looked over at Yoh, then sighed, letting go of his anger.

"Sorry Yoh," Hao whispered, barely audible to the others.

Yoh sighed, looking into his brother's eyes. "We talked about this, they're my friends, and we all need to get along. I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Yoh said, the words only loud enough for Hao to hear.

Hao grit his teeth, then turned to the others in the group. "Sorry," he said gruffly.

Everyone stared at Hao in shock. "Whatever," Ren said, shrugging. "We should set up camp for the night anyway."

***

The next morning dawned too early for the boys as the picked themselves up to begin their journey anew.

"How much further is it?" Lyserg asked. He didn't really want to complain, but his feet hurt from all this walking.

Yoh sighed, looking over his group of friends. "Me and Hao think its still at least two days of walking distance away."

"What!?!" everyone shouted, falling to the ground.

"Well, its no use lying around, so get off your butts and walk already," Hao said.

Yoh sighed. "Well, it would be nice if we didn't have to walk the whole way..." he trailed off.

Ryu suddenly grinned. "Oversoul Big Thumb!" he shouted as Tokagero entered his wooden sword.

"Baka! No one's going to show up around here," Ren said, shaking his head.

Just then the sound of an engine was heard and everyone looked up to see a blue truck heading their way.

"Billy!" Ryu shouted as the truck pulled to a stop.

Billy grinned, giving him the thumbs up. "Get in," he said, motioning everyone onto the truck.

_How'd he get clear out here?_ Everyone thought as they piled onto the truck.

***

They'd been driving for about twenty minutes in silence before Lyserg finally broke it.

"Say, Hao, can I ask you a question?"

Hao gave a glance at Yoh, who smiled at him. Yoh knew that Hao was still afraid everyone hated him for what he had done in his past, and that he was also afraid that they'd want answers as to why he did the things he did. Answers he wasn't sure he wanted to tell them, for Hao himself didn't fully understand why he did most of the things he had done.

Hao sighed, turning his attention to the green-haired boy. "Sure, ask away," he said, dreading what was to come next.

"What is Ayamae-san's spirit?" Lyserg asked.

"Wha?" Hao asked. This was not the question he had been expecting.

"Yeah, what is it?" Horohoro asked, turning to face Hao as well.

"Its a good question," Faust said, joining in as well. Hao looked around at the group and they all faced him, attention riveted on him.

"Well," Hao began, quite bewildered to find himself the center of attention, and not for something bad he had done.

"I mean, we all know that her spirit has something to do with wind, right?" Ren asked, after Hao had remained silent.

"But we've never actually seen it. She never introduced us to her spirit," Chocolove finished as everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well..." Yoh pressed, smiling slightly at the strange expression on Hao's face.

"Don't tell me you've never seen her spirit!" Ryu said, shaking Hao. "I mean, you've know her for like, a thousand years!"

"No, I know her spirit," Hao said, finally composing himself.

"Well, tell us about it," Horohoro said, getting inpatient.

Hao sighed, looking around at the group. "Well, she was like nothing I've ever seen before, and will probably never come across a spirit such as her again."

***

Rosimae: ...read ten of the most boring 50 page plays ever written, write an essay on an ancient ruined temple, read 100 pages in the Doctrine and Covenants,

Yoh: Uh, Rosimae, the chapters over.

Rosimae: Write- Huh, what? You already posted the chapter? When?

Hao: while you were ranting.

Rosimae: Oh...ooohh! Hey! it was a cliff hanger. Mwahaha!

Ren: that's not nice, I want to know what happens next.

Rosimae: You'll just have to wait like everyone else. ^-^

Horohoro: she sure feels better

Yoh: hehe yep, I love it when she's happy! Please read and review it makes her happier!


	23. Chapter 23

Rosimae: Yay! I'm updating again! And we finally get to meet Aya-chan's spirit!

Hao: About time, you've been keeping them in the dark for long enough.

Rosimae: Yeah, but it was fun.

Yoh: ^-^ Well, Rosimae doesn't own Shaman King, but she likes to write about us!

Rosimae: Yep, enjoy the next chappie!

**Chapter 23: Spirit of Wind**

Yoh and the gang leaned forward, intent on learning what this unique spirit was.

"Ayamae is protected by the Spirit of Wind," Hao said simply.

(A/N Rosimae: now, I haven't read the manga, but I did learn that Chocolove eventually has the Spirit of Wind, and that it is eagle shaped, but this is my story, so I can have it which ever way I want thank you very much! Yoh: Rosimae, I don't think anyone's mad, I think they just want you to continue the story. Rosimae: Oh, sorry, onward!)

"Wha?" everyone shouted, a few of them falling over on their sides.

"Its true," Hao said, looking at them all, a little confused by their reactions.

Yoh laughed. "Nii-chan, we already kinda figured it was the Spirit of Wind, but what does she look like?"

"Oh," Hao said, smiling at them. "Well, she's really shy, so I'm not surprised that you haven't seen her form yet."

"Does she take on a huge form, like your Spirit of Fire?" Chocolove asked.

Hao laughed at that thought. "No, she doesn't," he stated simply.

"Then what?" everyone said, slightly exasperated.

"Well," Hao began. "Like I said earlier, she is definitely a one of a kind spirit. She's wild, mischievous, fast, and silent, when she wants to be." Hao looked around the group, enjoying this form of torture much more than he thought he would.

Finally, after a long pause, Ren shouted, "Well, are you going to continue or not?!"

"Yeah, what's she look like? What form does she take? We've only ever seen Ayamae oversoul her into her sais," Horohoro said, sitting Indian style and holding his ankles as he rocked back and forth.

"The Spirit of Wind is a kitten," Hao stated simply.

Everyone stared at Hao, not knowing what to say. "Alright, Hao, cut the crap. What is she really?" Ryu said, finally breaking the silence.

"No, really, the Spirit of Wind is a small, fluffy, calico kitten," Hao said again.

"Come on, kittens aren't that troublesome, or that powerful," Lyserg said, rolling his eyes. He should have known Hao wouldn't give a proper answer to his question.

Hao looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Have you ever owned a kitten? They're like the energizer bunny, on speed."

(Rosimae: any of you who have ever owned a kitten knows what I'm talking about, right. Kittens are nightmares and bundles of joy, wrapped in a fluffy little package. I can just imagine one being the wind, the way they move and react to things. Plus, I love kitties!!!!)

Ren snorted at this, remembering when he was just five years old. Jun had rescued a small black kitten from the streets, thinking that she could take care of it and keep it hidden from their father. What a mistake that had been. Ren remembered night after night of listening to that little trickster run around Jun's room next door, running into things, pouncing on imaginary prey, and getting into all sorts of mischief. One day, he made the mistake of trying to hold the kitten, only to have it jump out of his arms, race around the huge room five times in about as many seconds, and climb the curtains to the ceiling, only to pounce on Jun's head when she entered her room again. Needless to say, Jun was not happy with the kitten after it shredded the curtains and her favorite dress, while it used the potted plants in her room as a litter box. However, Jun couldn't just put the little demon back out on the streets, and had been kind enough (to the kitten, at least), to find it a new home. Both Jun and Ren vowed never to have a kitten again.

"I still don't believe it," Chocolove said, laying back down. "And don't go trying to pull any jokes on us, thats my job," he added.

"I believe it," Ren said, shaking the memory out of his head.

"Wha?" everyone said, turning to stare at Ren. Nobody but Yoh could believe that Ren would even consider believing what Hao had said.

Ren shrugged. "Jun had a kitten for a about a week, it was a nightmare," he said nonchalantly. "And thinking about the way Ayamae moves when she's fighting, well, it does kinda remind me of Demon a little."

"Demon?" Yoh asked, smirking.

"Jun's kitten," Ren replied, not having meant for the kitten's name to slip out. "Cause that's what it was, a little demon."

"Yeah, but, how does Ayamae-san do that, I mean, she doesn't use Hyoi Gattai, she definitely oversouls her spirit into her sais," Faust asked, thinking back to their mock battles with Ayamae.

Hao thought about the best way to answer this for a bit. "Well, first, I have to say that Ayamae's been with Neko-chan for a very long time," he began. (Rosimae: Hehehehe, I had a little calico kitten and I named her Neko-chan, she was so cute and wild, just like the Spirit of Wind. ^-^ Hao: Can we just get back to the story Rosimae? Rosimae: Oh, sorry :P)

"Neko-chan?" Ren asked, poking Chocolove in the nose before the shaman could voice the joke that had sprung to mind at Hao's words.

"Ow, ow, ow, what was that for?" Chocolove asking, hands clapped over his nose.

Ren shrugged, still looking at Hao curiously. _Dang, I think I'm actually starting to like Hao. No, I can't think like that, he's still the enemy. But, its hard to see him as that now, especially when he talks about Ayamae. Maybe he has- No, don't even go there, you can't trust him. But Yoh trusts him. No, Yoh can be wrong, Hao might still be plotting things. But when has Yoh ever been wrong? No, stop thinking this way, I can't afford to._ Ren squashed his mental arguing down as Hao opened his mouth in answer to his question.

"It's what Ayamae is now calling the Spirit of Wind. She says it's easier to say, and Neko-chan seems to like it," Hao said, shrugging as the gang all gave him incredulous looks, for no one believed that Ayamae would actually nickname her spirit. "Anyway," Hao continued. "Ayamae and Neko-chan are able to read each other when Ayamae's using her Oversoul, and Neko-chan is able to help Ayamae sense things that humans and shamans alike are not able to sense. On top of that, Ayamae has trained very hard to gain the grace and cat-like reflexes she has now. And having her spirit be the wind isn't a bad thing either, considering the wind carries many things, including noises and pictures, if you know how to look for them." Hao sighed, looking around the group of shamans. "I don't know how to explain it better than that. Ayamae has a very special bond with the Spirit of Wind."

The gang nodded, lapsing into silence as they pondered everything they'd been told.

***

Ayamae stretched, grinning as her and the others cooled off after another vigorous day of training. Manta was coming along in great leaps and bounds, thanks to the careful training of Asim, and Tamao's skill had also increased quite a bit, although it made Ponchi and Konchi quite unbearable as they bragged about how amazing they were.

"Hey, Aya-chan?" Jun said, coming to stand next to Ayamae with Li by her side.

"Hmm?" Ayamae asked, glancing at her, before bending back down and gripping her ankles, pulling her upper body flat against her legs (Rosimae: ouch, that hurts! Yoh: Only cause you're not flexible. Rosimae: right, well, to continue...)

"Your guardian spirit," Jun began. "What is it?"

Ayamae glanced up, and noticed everyone looking at her. "You mean Neko-chan?" she asked.

"Neko-chan?" Pirika repeated, not understanding.

"Yeah, you guys haven't met Neko-chan yet?" Ayamae asked, a little confused.

Anna smirked. "Aya-chan, you know how shy Neko-chan is. It took her three months before she showed herself to me."

"Oh, right. Sorry, you see, Neko-chan can pick and choose who sees her, so I forget that I can see her, when others can't," Ayamae explained to her confused friends. "Neko-chan, come on, its okay, they're friends, okay, I promise," Ayamae continued, staring down at her feet.

Everyone else looked down, and to their surprise (all except Anna, who could already see the spirit), sitting down by Ayamae's feet was a small, calico kitten.

"Everyone, this is my guardian spirit, the Spirit of Wind, or as I like to call her, Neko-chan," Ayamae said, smiling as the spirit kitten jumped lightly onto her shoulder.

"The Spirit of Wind? You mean, your spirit is a Godaiseirei?" Asim asked, impressed.

"Yep," Ayamae said.

"A Godaiseirei? What's that mean?" Manta asked.

"Its one of the five powerful elemental spirits, like Hao's Spirit of Fire," Anna explained.

"But, she's so little, and cute, she can't be as powerful and the Spirit of Fire," Pirika said, her hand itching to stretch out and pet Neko-chan, but knowing that she was only a spirit.

Ayamae laughed. "She may be cute and little, but she's a trouble maker, and as wild and free as the wind. Its being the Spirit of Wind that gives her the ability to be seen by some, but not others. Like the wind can choose to be seen."

"I see," Manta said.

Nobody knew what else to say, considering it was a lot to take in. Finally, Jun broke the silence. "Well, its nice to meet you, Neko-chan," she said, smiling.

"Mew," was all the reply she got, before Neko-chan jumped off Ayamae's shoulder and dashed across the yard, disappearing.

Ayamae laughed. "Well, it seems she's had enough of social time," she said.

Everyone smiled as Delila walked back into the house. "Dinner's ready," she called behind her.

***

"Thanks for the lift, Billy," Ryu called, waving to his friend as he drove off, after dropping the group at a small village.

Everyone shook their heads, still not quite sure how Billy had gotten clear to Egypt.

"Are you positive he's not Ryu's spirit?" Horohoro asked Ren as the group split up into pairs to look around the village.

Ren just shook his head, then tensed. Horohoro kept walking, right into Ren.

"Hey, warn a guy when you're going to stop suddenly will ya?" Horohoro asked, picking himself up off the ground. "What's wrong?"

But Horohoro's question was answered as three people approached them.

"Well, well, look what we have here, a couple of shamans," one of the guys sneered.

"Yeah, but they don't look as if they could put up much of a fight, I mean, look how young they are," one of his companions said.

The third, who appeared to be the leader, shrugged. "Its better then nothing, besides we need a good practice before the tournament starts again in two weeks. This time, I will make it."

"Hmm" Ren grunted. "So you want a shaman fight?"

"Yeah, we want a shaman fight," the leader replied. "I'm Cal, by the way, and this is Xei," he pointed to the shorter, stalkier one that had spoken first. "And the other guy is Grent," this time he pointed to the tall, slender man behind him.

"I'm Ren Tao," Ren said. "And this idiot is Horohoro."

"Hey, I can introduce myself," Horohoro said, then turned back to glaring at the three challengers.

"Is there someone who could be your third person, it wouldn't do to be unevenly matched," Grent said, although he looked like he couldn't care one way or another.

"We'll be more than a match for the three of you," Ren said, folding his arms and smirking.

Grent and Xei growled, but Cal held up his hand. "Very well, then prepare yourself. Bennu, in Ferrum!" he shouted as his lackeys called forth their own oversouls.

"Bason!" Ren called.

"Kororo!" Horohoro called. Both boys soon had their oversouls to their maximum potential. "_S__himon Mataki - Rupushika Tek!" _Horohoro yelled, punching the ground with his gauntleted fist and freezing the three opposing shamans in place.

"What the?!" Cal, Grent and Xei yelled, trying to pull their legs out of the ice.

"_G__olden Chuuka Zanmai_!" Ren called, shattering the ice and causing Cal, Grent, and Xei to lose their oversouls. "Humph!" Ren grunted as he landed. "Like I said, more than a match." And with that, he turned around, Horohoro following close behind, leaving the three shamans laying in the dirt.

"Darn them!" Cal said, finally pulling himself to his feet. "I didn't think they'd be that strong."

"We just weren't ready for them yet, that's all," Grent said.

"But we'll get the next time," Xei grinned, brushing dirt from his knives.

***

Rosimae: Sorry, couldn't resist making Ayamae's spirit a kitten! They are sooooo cute!

Ayamae: Makes sense to me.

Yoh: Yeah, why not, you're the author.

Rosimae: Yay! Everyone agrees! Although I bet you all forgot about the shaman tournament?

Yoh: No, we just have better things to be doing.

Ren: Yay! Yyou let me beat up a few idiots.

Horohoro: Hey, I helped!

Rosimae: Wow, Ren likes to beat people up! Well, I'll try to add more action, I'm just not that good at it. Well, I hope you enjoyed! I made it a bit longer this time cause I have a few more tests coming up, so I don't know when I'll be able to update again. Please Review, it will help me make it through the troubled times!


	24. Chapter 24

Wow, its been a REALLY long time since I last updated...sorry about that. Lots of things have been happening in my life and I really just haven't had the time or motivation to finish this story. But I hate it when I read a fanfiction and go to find out the end, only to find the author hasn't updated in years, and will probably never finish the story, so its my goal to finish it!

So, as a treat to myself for taking 2 tests in as many days (hard tests BTW) I decided to update my story, to get myself to relax. Hope you enjoy it! We'll be getting to some action soon, I hope...

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King

**Chapter 24: Nightmares and Worries**

_She was running again, running from something, through the darkness. _

_"Ayamae," it called out to her, the smooth voice sliding up her skin like oil._

_"No!" Ayamae shouted, turning to see what was coming, only to trip and fall, fall, fall. _

_The blackness was endless and she couldn't stop her plummet. _

Ayamae sat up in bed, gasping and shivering as cold sweat dripped down her back. She had thought that by wearing herself out, the nightmares would stop, but they continued to plague her.

She got out of bed and left her room, making her way to one of the many second floor balconies that graced Asim's mansion. Opening the door, she let herself out into the balmy night air.

She sighed, staring up at the stars. _I wish Hao was here,_ she thought, folding her arms around herself in a hug. _I hope him and the others are okay. _

"Aya?"

Ayamae turned around to see Anna standing there, just outside the door. Her hair was slightly rumpled from sleep as well.

"Hey Anna," Ayamae said. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Anna shook her head. "I'm worried about Yoh and the others," she said. "I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"I know what you mean," Ayamae said, leaning up against the railing once again. "I just wish they were back already."

Anna joined her at the railing and looked up, her eyes following the path of a plane over head.

"At least they're all together," Anna said, trying to offer her friend comfort, and comfort herself as well.

"Yeah," Ayamae agreed. "They'll take care of each other."

Anna nodded and they were silent for a time. Finally, Anna took a breath and faced Ayamae.

"You've been having nightmares again?" Anna asked.

Ayamae nodded.

"The same ones from when you were little?"

"Yep."

"I thought those went away."

"So did I, but ever since we've come here, they've been coming more and more frequently. It's the same thing, over and over again. And it's just blackness, blackness and running and falling."

"We'll figure it out," Anna said, determination shining in her eyes.

"I hope so," Ayamae replied, turning her gaze back to the light of the moon. "I hope so."

"Yoh, do we even have time to stop at an inn for the night?" Hao asked as the seven boys dropped their stuff down on the floor and began exploring the room they had rented for the night. They were all feeling much better after a nice hot meal, but all were ready for a good night's rest.

"If we don't rest, we'll be tired in the morning, right?" Yoh said, flopping into a recliner. "Besides, it won't do us any good to be so worn out we wouldn't be able to fight, if it came to a fight, that is. It'll all work out in the end."

Hao shook his head, amazed at how easy going his brother was. "Okay," he said, choosing a spot of floor next to his brother. He still wasn't sure he was completely accepted by the others, and so chose to remain close to Yoh, who was about the only one really comfortable around him.

The others began settling down, arguing over who would get the bed and who would sleep on the couches or floor. Everyone seemed relaxed, despite the reason for their travels.

"Hey," Horohoro said, once everyone was settled down a bit. "Do you really think there will be a fight, when we get there?"

"I hope so," Ren grumbled.

"Who knows," Yoh said, shrugging.

"That's all you have to say? Who knows?" Chocolove asked.

"We can't be sure what we'll find when we get there," Hao said.

"Right," Lyserg drawled, still not sure he trusted anything Hao said.

"Well, whatever we find, we find, but we won't know until we get there," Yoh said. The other's all nodded in agreement, switching off the lights closest to them. "Good night," Yoh called to everyone, smiling as everyone echoed the sentiment. They were all too tired for any fun antics tonight, but maybe on the way back they would have some fun.

"Look at them all," Grent growled, peering in the window at the seven shamans. "Snuggled in for the night, without a care in the world."

Cal snorted. "And what is this fight they're talking about? Where are they headed?"

"Maybe it's some secret that makes you a better shaman," Xei said. "I think we should follow them and find out."

"I can't see why we can't just kill them here and now," Grent said. "Those two brats made us look like fools."

"Patience Grent," Cal said. "What Xei says has merit. We can always kill them later, for now, let's see what they're up to."


	25. Chapter 25

Two updates in as many days, I'm quite please with myself! Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 25: The Cavern**

Yoh and the others set off on their journey again in the wee hours of the morning, yawning as they began hiking once again through the endless sands of Egypt. All of them could now feel with great clarity the object's aura. Whatever they were journeying to retrieve was filled with the darkest energy any of them had felt.

_Maybe Hao was being controlled by this energy,_ Ren thought as they walked along. He looked ahead to where Yoh and Hao were walking. They seemed to be in conversation about Anna and Ayamae and Ren rolled his eyes. _Ha, anyone that annoying about girls _has_ to be evil to some degree._ But he couldn't deny the fact that ever since that night where they all battled, Hao did seem different. Even the aura he gave off was different. More golden, like Yoh's.

Next to Ren, Horohoro seemed to be having a similar conversation with himself. Ren smirked as Horohoro rubbed at his head, finally shouting, "It just doesn't make sense!"

Yoh and Hao turned back to stare as the group came to a complete stand still. Horohoro looked up, then glared at Hao. "Just admit it now. Are you evil or aren't you?" Horohoro demanded.

Hao blinked at him. "I thought we established that I wasn't evil anymore," Hao said.

"Yes, but you _never_ claimed not to be," Horohoro said.

Everyone stared at Hao, watching his reaction. Hao sighed. "I promise you all that I am no longer evil. I'm sorry for the things I did in my past to make you distrust me. I hope that, with time, you can learn to trust me. There, happy?" Hao said.

"Works for me," Yoh said, striking his customary pose with his hands behind his head.

"You never had a problem with him changing," Ryu pointed out.

"Hehehe," Yoh chuckled.

Behind them, Xei, Cal, and Grent were crouched behind a boulder, trying to eavesdrop on what they were saying.

"I can't hear a thing," Grent complained. "Can't we just kill them yet?"

"Not yet," Cal shushed him, trying to lean closer. "There after something. Can't you feel its power?"

"Yeah," Xei said. "But something doesn't feel right about it."

"That's just cause you're a wimp," Grent said.

"Hey!" Xei said, his voice almost raised to a yell, causing Cal to clamp a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up and come on," Cal said. "They're moving again."

With that the small group followed the larger group off towards the distance.

"Whoa," Chocolove said, staring at the imposing black rocks that sat in front of them. "What is this?"

"It looks like a rock formation," Faust pointed out.

"We can see that," Ryu said.

"It's inside there," Hao said, walking closer to the structure. "I just don't see a way in."

"Bason!" Ren called, smirking as his spirit immediately flew to his side, leaving Amidamaru in mid conversation.

"Yes young master," Bason said.

"Search for a way in," Ren commanded, pointing.

"Yes sir," Bason said, before flying away.

"Amidamaru," Yoh called to his spirit. "Would you help Bason?"

"Of course," Amidamaru said, before flying off. The other spirits soon followed, leaving their shamans to sit and take a break for the first time that day.

Yoh was just nodding off, much to Hao's amusement although it was nothing new to the others, when Bason, Amidamaru, and the others came back.

"We found it, young master," Bason said.

"It's on the opposite side of the formation," Amidamaru said, floating down next to Yoh.

"Well, then, I guess we should get going," Yoh said, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Already?" Horohoro asked, trying to keep the whine from his voice.

"Tired already?" Ren asked with a smirk.

"No," Horohoro immediately replied. "I just thought you all were looking like you could use the break. I'm in top shape."

"Well, me too," Chocolove said, jumping to his feet.

"Let's go," Ryu said, shouldering his wooden sword.

"Right," Faust said.

The group moved off, making their way around the huge formation.

"So, whatever they are after is in there," Cal said, calculating the gray/black stone.

"Sounded like it," Grent said.

"Well then," Cal grinned stepping closer. There was a rumbling in the ground, rocks beginning to shift, and an opening appeared before Cal.

"Well, well, look at that," Cal said. "It's like its inviting up to enter."

Cal stepped closer to the dark entrance.

"I don't know about this," Xei said, stepping away. He could feel the dark aura even stronger now and it frightened him. "I don't think this is a very good idea. Maybe we should just go back."

"Stop being a scaredy cat," Grent said, pushing him out of the way.

"Come on already," Cal said, turning around. He was already several steps in. The ground shifted again, and Cal went falling into the darkness. Grent and Xei lunged after him, but the rocks shifted, blocking them from entering.

"Great, now what do we do?" Grent asked, glaring at Xei as if it were all his fault.

"I'm not sure, but I think we should warn the others," Xei said.

"What, those brats we've been following? Why would we do that?"

"Because, I really don't like how this is going," Xei replied. "And they could help us find Cal."

Grent thought about it for a while, glancing back where Cal had disappeared then back at Xei. A queasy feeling settled in his stomach and he began to realize Xei might be right.

"Alright," Grent acknowledged. "But not because we need their help. But because they will need ours."

"Right," Xei said, and they set off to where they had seen the seven shamans heading

"Are you sure it's around here?" Lyserg asked after they had walked for almost an hour.

"It's right ahead," Bason said, pointing. The group walked several more feet before seeing a dark gaping hole, black stone steps carved into it, leading down and out of the light.

"Yep, looks like an entrance to me," Chocolove said. "And now that we know everything is secured, let's go back." He began backing away from the entrance.

"Not afraid of the dark, are you?" Horohoro asked, although he too didn't seem to want to move closer.

"Of course not," Chocolove said. "I just think we don't need to go down there. I mean, who's gonna come all the way out here."

Behind them they could hear footsteps, and all seven shamans turned to see two guys approaching.

"Who are you?" Faust, who was closest to them, asked.

"No one," Ren said, rolling his eyes. "Just a couple of idiots we beat up yesterday."

"Hey," Grent said, taking a threatening step forward. "Watch it punk."

"Grent," Xei said, resting a hand on his arm. "We didn't come to fight."

"We did originally," Grent growled.

"But not now," Xei said.

"Hey, where's the other one?" Horohoro asked, realizing their third member was missing.

"That's what we were coming to tell you," Xei said. "We followed you to see what you were up to. When we got close to the other side of this rock formation thing, it opened up and Cal went inside. It closed so quickly afterwards, we couldn't follow."

"What?" Hao asked, pushing forward. "He went inside?"

"Yeah," Grent said. "And I was all for it, but now it doesn't sit right with me. There's something funny going on in there."

Hao turned to Yoh, face grim. "This has to be the work of the Shadow King. We have to hurry before this Cal guy can get to his weapon."

Yoh nodded and the others followed suit.

"So I guess we have to go in," Chocolove said as the others made their way down the stairs.

"You guys go have fun," Grent said. "I'm not going in."

"Yeah," Xei said, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably. "We'll stand guard here. Make sure no one else, uh, follows you."

"Right," Ren said, rolling his eyes and heading down the stairs.

"Have fun," Yoh said, waving before making his own way into the darkness. The others followed suit.

"Do you think we should have gone with them?" Xei asked, watching as the blonde haired man's white lab coat disappeared in the shadows.

"You can if you want to," Grent said. "That place is giving me the willies. No way am I going in there."

"I'm not either," Xei said, turning his gaze away from the black cavern. "Too dark for me."


	26. Chapter 26

YAY! Updating again! Although I don't know if I like how this chapter goes...

Sorry if the characters seem a little off...

But enjoy it anyways! More to come soon, hopefully!

**Chapter 26: The Morning Star**

Cal didn't know where his companions had wandered off too, nor did he care. All he cared about was the voice that had crept into his head the moment he entered the dark cave. The voice that whispered he was about to obtain unlimited power.

He walked through the black corridors, not seeing, but following the directions the voice spoke to him. The darkness pressed around him, but he opened his arms and welcomed it. It would, after all, make him stronger. The voice promised him that.

Turning another corner, he came into a large chamber, lit softly with a strange reddish black hue. Cal looked around, his eyes coming to rest on the source of the strange light.

Stuck in the middle of the floor, point down, was a club like weapon with spikes on the large end. The whole weapon pulsed with the strange light, which gave off an aura of darkness.

Grinning, Cal walked towards the weapon, reached out, and grabbed the hilt.

Anna and Ayamae were relaxing with Jun, Pirika, Tamao, and Delila, watching as Asim took Manta through some shaman exercises. Manta was coming along in great leaps, and even thing late in the evening, he now had the strength and energy to keep going.

"I'd better make dinner," Delila said, standing up. "They're going to be starving when they get done."

"I'll help!" Pirika said, jumping to her feet.

"Me too!" Tamao said, quickly following the two others inside. Jun smiled, then got up, wandering off hand in hand with Li.

Ayamae yawned and stretched out in the grass and Anna smiled, relaxing next to her.

"You still having the dreams?" Anna asked.

"Yeah," Ayamae said. "I just have this horrible feeling something is about to happen."

Anna nodded. "Me too. I can sense something, I just don't know what."

Ayamae sighed. "I guess we'll find out soon enough, right?"

"Yeah," Anna said.

Ayamae sat up as Asim and Manta made their way over towards them, both dripping in sweat, but looking quite pleased with themselves.

Manta opened his mouth to ask a question when both Anna and Ayamae went stock still, eyes going wide.

"Aya," Anna gasped.

"I know," Ayamae said, sounding just out of breath.

"What is it?" Manta asked, shocked at the reaction of the two girls. "What's wrong?"

"That aura," Anna said.

"Pure evil," Ayamae said.

Asim shook his head. "I don't feel anything."

"It's there," Anna said standing up.

"I hope the others are okay," Ayamae said.

Delila came to the door then, peeking her head out. "Dinner's ready," she called. Then, seeing the looks on their faces asked, "What's wrong."

"Something's happened," Ayamae said.

"We just don't know what yet," Anna said. "But we're going to find out."

Yoh and the others made their way through the pitch black tunnels, lit only by the light of their spirits. They could all feel the evil that saturated the walls, ceiling, and floors of the place.

Hao was having a harder time than the others, mainly because he had carried this kind of darkness in his heart for over 1000 years. It made him sick to think that he had allowed that kind of power over him, and allowed it to make him do all kinds of evil deeds he knew he would be repenting for for the rest of his life.

Yoh came to a stop as they ran into a fork in the tunnel. One tunnel led deeper down, while the other moved slightly upwards.

"Which way?" Horohoro asked, peering at both tunnels.

"Ummmo," Yoh said, looking between the two, before glancing at his companions. Ren looked as stoic as ever, Bason floating right beside him. Horohoro looked slightly ill, and kept Kororo nestled in the crook of his arm. Ryu was gritting his teeth in the dim light, Tokegero beside him looking worried. Faust had his arm wrapped protectively around Eliza. Chocolove kept one hand planted on Mic's head. Lyserg had Morphine planted on his shoulder, and continued to glance at Hao with distrust.

And Hao, Hao looked paler than usually, something that worried Yoh. Yoh also noticed that Hao had been silent ever since they entered the black structure.

"Hao?" Yoh asked, hoping to bring his brother out of whatever funk he was in.

Hao shook his head, still looking slightly nauseous.

"It's up to you, master," Ryu said, hefting his wooden sword on his shoulder.

"That way," Amidamaru pointed towards the tunnel that moved upwards.

"You sure?" Yoh asked, looking to his spirit, who nodded. "Then that way it is."

Yoh expected some forms of complaint, or questioning as to why he was following Amidamaru's suggestion, but none came. _It must be the feel of this place,_ Yoh thought, leading the others on.

"Come on everyone," Yoh said, attempting to lighten the mood. "Not afraid of a little dark, are we?" Yoh was worried that if everyone got lost in their own thoughts, and the darkness that surrounded them, that they would be consumed by the evil that filled this place.

"Teh, of course not," Ren scoffed, catching onto what Yoh was thinking. "Why, in my country, we have 33 caves that are darker than this."

"Amazing," Bason said, hovering near Ren.

"How is that amazing?" Horohoro asked.

"How is that a maze of a king?" Chocolove blurted out.

Silence filled the cave as everyone stopped to glare at Chocolove, until Yoh broke it with laughter.

"Hahahahaha, oh, that was a good one Chocolove," Yoh laughed.

"Yoh-kun," Faust said, a worried look on his face. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Yoh said, still laughing. "We just can't let this place get to us, right nii-chan?"

Yoh slapped his brother on the back, causing Hao to jump and turn to look at him. Yoh and Hao met eye to eye, and Hao, seeing that Yoh could be so relaxed in such a place, allowed himself a smile.

"Heh, You're right, Yoh-kun," Lyserg said, also smiling.

"We should continue on," Hao said, pointing ahead. "I think we're almost there."

"I think I saw a bear!" Chocolove said, pointing dramatically into the distance. Everyone fell silent again after that. "Heh heh, a little too much?" Chocolove asked.

"Yes," Ren said, pushing by Chocolove. The group continued walking, and while still surrounded by the darkness, in a place full of evil, they felt light hearted. They were together, nothing could go wrong when they were together.

The air of light heartedness followed them until they came upon a large room filled with strange, pulsing, red-black light. They could all feel that this was where the evil aura was coming from.

And in the center, standing next to a weapon that looked like a spiked club, was Cal. The group lurched forward as Cal reached out a hand.

"NOOOOOO!" Yoh and Hao shouted as Cal's hand gripped the weapon and pulled it from the ground.

The cavern shook, and dark laughter echoed around.

"At last," a deep voice boomed. A voice Hao recognized with dread. "At last, my Morning Star has been recovered. Soon, I shall return to this world and claim it as my own! Then, all who are weak shall tremble and be destroyed! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


	27. Chapter 27

Yay, another update! Thanks to all of you who are reviewing my story! I read your reviews and go OMG, people are actually reading this! I better keep updating!

In this chapter we get to meet an old friend :D YAY for old friends! Anyway, enjoy! And sorry about the Cliffhanger!

PS: I don't own Shaman King! If I did, I wouldn't be post here, and this story would already be made into animation...

**Chapter 27: An Old Friend**

"Can't this thing go any faster?" Anna demanded.

"It's going as fast as it can," Asim said, glancing down at his speedometer. It read well over 100.

Anna scowled, sitting back in her seat.

Delila turned in her seat to frown lightly at Anna.

"Sorry, Delila," Jun said from the very back of the van they were all piled in.

Shortly after Anna and Ayamae had deemed they were going to find out what had happened, Anna had had Manta come up with a mode of transportation (considering Asim did not own a car), and within ten minutes, van had been delivered to Asim's mansion. After that, everyone had piled in, and Asim took the wheel, speeding in the direction Anna and Ayamae pointed him in.

"It's okay," Delila said, facing forward again. "I understand you're all worried about your friends."

Anna and Ayamae both sent irritated looks at Delila, after all, they did _not_ worry, but the looks went unnoticed.

They went flying over another bump in the road, and Manta found himself once again momentarily airborne. He landed with a thud and a wince, and sighed softly. He would go over a thousand bumps if it meant Yoh and the others were okay.

Glancing back out his window, he was shocked by what he saw. Or _who_ he saw, to be more precise.

"Stop the car," he said, peering out the window.

"We don't have time," Ayamae said.

"Please," Manta said. "It could be important."

Asim slammed on the breaks and turned to look at Manta. Everyone else did as well, and Manta thought he would shrivel up under the looks he was receiving from Anna and Ayamae.

"Well, what is it?" Anna demanded.

"Look," Manta said, pointing out the window before unbuckling his seatbelt and moving to open the car door.

They all peered out the windows and Manta jumped from the car and ran to a figure in the distance. At first they thought it might be Chocolove, the person was dark skinned after all, until they realized that the person was too short to be Chocolove.

"Who is that?" Ayamae asked.

"I don't believe it," Anna said, watching as Manta approached the figure.

"Hey," Manta said, approaching the small black girl.

Opacho looked up from her feet, which she had been watching as she walked. Her eyes widened in shock as she recognized Manta.

"What you doing here?" Opacho asked.

"We're going to catch up to our friends," Manta said. "What are you doing here?"

"Opacho wandering," Opacho explained. "Opacho no know what to do. Opacho is lonely."

"Hao is with us," Manta said. "Do you want to come and see Hao?"

Opacho whimpered. "Hao scary."

"He's not anymore," Manta said. "He's really nice now."

"Opacho not understand."

"Come with us," Manta said, holding out his hand. "I'll show you. Then you won't have to be lonely anymore."

Opacho eyed Manta's hand, tears forming in her big brown eyes.

"Opacho no more lonely?"

"No, I promise," Manta said. Opacho took Manta's hand and together they headed back towards the van. "Besides, we might need your help tracking down our friends. You're very good at that kind of thing." Manta smiled at Opacho, who blushed lightly.

"So, who is it?" Ayamae asked as she and the others watched Manta talk with the girl.

"Her name is Opacho, I think," Anna said. "She used to follow Hao around during the Shaman Fight."

"Hao had her with him?" Ayamae asked, feeling a pang of jealousy that she quickly suppressed.

"I suppose she was useful to him," Anna replied as they watched Manta lead Opacho towards the van.

"She never seemed like an evil person," Jun said.

"No, she wasn't evil," Anna agreed. "Just misled into putting her trust into something evil. Despite what she witnessed she always remained innocent."

The others stared at Anna, and Anna glared back at them. "What, I can't observe another person? I was keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't make any trouble for my Yoh."

Manta and Opacho made it back to the van and clambered in. Opacho looked slightly overwhelmed by the number of people in the van, so she stuck close to Manta.

"Hello," Ayamae said, wanting to gauge why Hao, or the Shadow King whose grip had been on Hao at the time, had felt the need to keep this little girl around. "My name's Ayamae."

"Opacho," Opacho said, jumping as Anna slammed the door.

"Move it," Anna demanded, cutting off any further introductions as Asim once again pressed the gas pedal flat.

"What have you done?" Yoh asked, staring at Cal, who had the Morning Star raised in the air and stood, staring at the weapon.

The cave around them continued to shake, large and small rocks pulling themselves from the walls and ceiling to crumble to the ground.

"Yoh! I think we need to get out of here," Horohoro cried, using his oversoul to block some falling rocks.

"Master, it's getting dangerous," Ryu shouted, using his oversoul to catch falling rocks from the air before they hit anyone.

"This whole thing is coming down," Lyserg called, his pendulum shooting off to destroy multiple falling rocks, turning them to dust.

"How could you?" Hao demanded, stepping forward. "Cast it aside now before it destroys your life!"

"Destroys my life?" Cal repeated, his voice echoing with the voice of the Shadow King. "This weapon will let me create the life I've always wanted!"

"Drop the weapon," Hao demanded, a feeling of calmness descending on him. The whole trip through the tunnels, he had been worried that he would be tempted once again by the Shadow King to pick up the weapon and use it for evil, but now, the only thing he felt for that weapon was a sick feeling in his stomach. The fact that he knew he could resist the Shadow King's power now helped him to feel much calmer in the face of what was happening.

"Or what," Cal asked, mocking. "You going to take it from me?"

"Yes," Hao said, stepping further into the cave. "I'm going to take it and destroy it."

"Well, I can't let you do that," Cal said, and he pointed the morning star at Hao.

"Hao!" Yoh shouted, lunging forward and pulling his brother down just as a crack of white hot energy shot towards them, hitting the wall behind them.

"Yoh! We've got to get out of here!" Chocolove shouted, still standing with the rest of the group at the entrance to the room.

Yoh and Hao struggled to their feet as more rocks came tumbling down around them.

"Go," Yoh shouted to his friends. "We'll be right behind you!"

The others nodded, but Ren stood there, meeting Yoh's eyes and gauging how truthful Yoh was being. Yoh gripped Hao's arm and began tugging his brother in the direction of Ren and the others.

"Go," Yoh repeated, eyes shining with determination as he glared at Ren. Ren nodded, judging that Yoh really was coming, before disappearing down the corridor.

"Let me go Yoh," Hao said, trying to twist out of his brother's iron grip. "We can't let him have that weapon. We have to stop him now."

"Later," Yoh said. "This whole place is coming down around our ears. Right now, we need to get out of here."

"Yes, Hao," Cal laughed. "Listen to your younger brother. Let him boss you around."

"Shut up!" Hao shouted, finally twisting out of Yoh's grasp to lunge at Cal.

"Hao!" Yoh shouted, following his brother deeper into the room. The room gave another shudder and a huge chunk of ceiling broke lose, falling straight for the two twins.

"Hao!" Yoh shouted again, and this time, Hao turned to look at his brother, before turning to see the huge rock heading down to land on both of them. Hao didn't really care that his life was in danger, but he really didn't want to see Yoh hurt.

"Yoh!" Hao cried, running back towards his brother as the rock came crashing down on both of them.

Cal stood there, watching the scene of turmoil in his own little bubble of calm. He watched as Hao made his way towards him before turning back to his brother, and laughed as the twins were crushed under the rocks.

"Foolish boy," Cal said, staring disdainfully at the huge rock that had crushed his enemies. "You probably could have made it to me, had you decided to leave your brother to his fate."

But Cal knew he was talking to no one. With one final sniff, he turned and made his way out of a second passageway, making his own way out of the collapsing caverns.

####

...Well, I did warn you about the cliffhanger, so you can't kill me! I'll try and update again as soon as possible!


	28. Chapter 28

Sorry it took so long to update, I've had three tests this past week and its CRAZY! Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can, but it _may_ take a while. I have another test, and two 5 page papers due, along with the normal amount of homework... I HATE SCHOOL!

Whew, glad I got that out...Anyways, enjoy!

**Chapter 28: The Cavern Collapses**

Anna and Ayamae stared out the windows, watching for any sign of Yoh, Hao, or the others. They were both beginning to worry, although neither would admit their worry, nor would they show it.

"There," Opacho said, startling everyone.

"Where?" the others in the van asked, craning their necks to look out the windows and squinting. Far off in the distance, they could see a huge black formation.

"Asim," Anna said.

"On it," Asim replied, pressing his foot firmer on the gas pedal and cranking the wheel in the direction of the black rocks. Everyone held on as the van jerked in a ninety degree turn, skidded on two wheels, then landed firmly back on all fours, shooting off at over 110 mph.

Ten minutes later they came to a screeching halt near the formation, eyes widening in horror as they watched the rocks practically tear themselves apart.

All of them were out of the van in no time, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of their friends and loved ones.

SKSKSKSKSKSKSK

Ren dashed up the stairs slightly behind Horohoro, only stopping when he made it above ground. Turning, he stared into the darkness, waiting for Yoh to appear, and even Hao.

It startled Ren that he was worried about Hao as well. He wasn't even sure when he had started trusting Yoh's brother, let alone started caring about him.

"Come on Yoh," Ren muttered, tapping his foot.

"Where are they?" Horohoro asked, panting beside Ren.

"They were right behind me," Ren muttered, glaring at the darkness as though if he stared at it hard enough, it would reveal his friends.

"Are you sure?" Faust asked, coming to stand next to them and stare down into the darkness as well.

"Yes," Ren growled. "Yoh promised me he was coming."

They all waited breathlessly for another minute, until it became abundantly clear that neither Yoh nor Hao was coming out.

"I'm going after them," Ren said. "Let's go, Bason!"

"Yes, young master," Bason said, making to follow Ren. The others were also preparing to dive back into the darkness when the entrance gave a giant heave, shuddered, and the whole thing collapsed in on itself.

"YOH!" Ren shouted, dashing forward.

Horohoro also dashed forward, beginning to throw rocks out of the way while the others stood and stared in shock. They didn't think it was possible for Yoh to have been trapped under there.

"Don't just stand there," Ren growled.

"Help us," Horohoro said, shoving at another rock.

The others jolted into action, all of them running forward to help move the rocks. Eliza joined Faust in her solid form and helped as well, with Mic joining in where he could.

"Yoh!" Ren shouted again, struggling against a particularly heavy rock. _Darn it,_ Ren thought. _Yoh, if you die in there, I'll never forgive you._

SKSKSKSKSKSKSK

Anna, Ayamae, and the others were just searching the outskirts of the formation for any signs when they heard a shout over the rumbling in the rocks. Glancing at each other, they all began the jog in the direction of the shout.

They were just rounding a corner of jagged black rock when they heard the shout again.

"Yoh!"

Jun recognized her brother's voice right away, and dashed towards it, Li hot on her heels.

Anna and Ayamae were also running towards the sound of voices. They rounded the corner and their eyes came to rest on the group of shamans.

All of them were on their knees, and they were all frantically digging in the rocks.

"What happened?" Jun asked in between gasps of air.

The shamans spun around at Jun's question.

"What?" Ren asked, eyes coming to rest on his sister. "How did you get here?"

"That doesn't matter," Anna said. "Where's Yoh?" She had done a brief search of the shamans and realized he and Hao were nowhere to be seen.

"And Hao," Ayamae said, fear gripping her heart.

"They were caught inside when the entrance collapsed," Lyserg said, wiping his sweaty forehead.

"And you're digging them out be hand?" Anna asked.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Chocolove demanded.

"You're shamans, aren't you?" Ayamae said, winds beginning to swirl around her in her agitation and worry.

The group of sweaty shamans looked at each other, before realization dawned on them. Calling on their big oversouls, they began moving the rocks a lot quicker.

"Neko-chan," Ayamae whispered. "Help me, please."

A soft meow was heard as the winds picked up, stronger than before. Ayamae held out her hand and pushed forward, sending the winds to a section of stone the others had yet to get to.

The winds swirled faster and faster, grabbing larger and larger rocks and tossing them to the side. Ayamae used another part of her focus to send the air drifting through the cracks, searching for where Hao and Yoh were in the structure. What she found was that the structure was HUGE.

She huffed in frustration, urging her winds to keep looking.

Manta and Asim joined in the search, with Manta using Mosuke's hammer to turn the rocks into dust. Asim used his power to create a barrier around everyone, ensure no one else got stuck beneath the heavy black rocks.

Li joined in next to Manta and Asim. Things were going a lot faster now, but the structure was very large, and they were all growing more desperate as time passed. Could Yoh and Hao really have survived the cave in?

"How did this happen?" Anna demanded as she directed Lyserg and Ryu to another place to look.

"Well, you see, we were followed here by others," Horohoro said, not meeting Anna's or Ayamae's gazes.

"Tell me the whole story," Anna said through gritted teeth.

SKSKSKSKSKSK

"Yoh," Hao called softly.

"I'm here," Yoh answered.

Both of them were trapped beneath the rock, but their spirits were forming a protective bubble around them, keeping the rocks from completely crushing them.

"Oh, thank goodness," Hao said, then coughed.

"You okay?" Yoh asked.

"Yeah, just a lot of dust down here."

Yoh chuckled. "No kidding."

"Are you hurt anywhere?" Hao asked.

"No."

They were silent for a time.

"What are you thinking about?" Hao asked his brother. He wanted to keep Yoh talking, so he knew he wasn't alone.

"How Anna is going to kill me for ruining this outfit," Yoh said.

Hao chuckled.

"Don't forget about Ayamae," Yoh said.

"Oh yeah," Hao said, his laughing dying down. "Great, she is going to be so mad at me."

It was Yoh's turn to laugh. "But that's what makes them so great," Yoh finally choked out through his laughter.

"How they like to torture us?" Hao asked.

"No," Yoh said, shuddering. "How they care about us."

Hao smiled. It was true, even though Ayamae had a weird way of showing it in front of others, she really did care about him. And Hao could tell Anna was the same way.

"Are we sure they aren't related?" Hao asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

They fell silent for a while.

"What do we do now?" Yoh asked, voice soft.

"Wait," Hao said.

"Do you think we have enough power to bust out of here?"

"I've been trying, but there's too much rock on top of us."

"Yeah, I've been trying too."

"Maybe the other's will move enough rock to get us out of here," Hao said.

"Wow," Yoh said, a smile creeping in his voice.

"What?" Hao asked.

"I didn't know you were such the optimist. Or that you had such faith in our friends."

Hao chuckled. "First off, I don't know if they'd call me a friend. And secondly, I feel like I can have faith in them because you do."

Yoh didn't know what to say to that, but it made him realize just how much his brother trusted him, despite the fact that if you went back a month, they were bitter enemies. It was flattering, but frightening. Hao had changed so much over such a short time. All the things he had preached and fought for while under the power of the Shadow King still seemed to haunt his brother, but he didn't seem to want to destroy the world and create a new one anymore. He seemed like he just wanted to hang out and get to know his brother. And protect his brother. That had shocked Yoh. He had never felt like anyone really wanted to protect him.

Sure his friends always were there, standing up for him, but having an older brother, even if by only a few minutes, look out for you was something altogether different.

Minutes passed before Yoh realized it was getting harder to breath.

"Hao," Yoh said, feeling really frightened for the first time. "I feel like I can't breathe."

Hao closed his eyes against the fear in Yoh's voice, wishing there was some way he could make everything better. Squashing down his own fear, he answered his brother. "I know. We're running out of air down here. Don't talk now, it wastes more oxygen."

"Okay," Yoh said, trying to stay calm. If Hao could be calm, then he wouldn't panic either.

They both sat in silence, listening to each other breath and trying to think of ways to get out of the situation they were in.


	29. Author's Note

**Author's Note:**

Hello Everyone,

Sorry it has taken me so long to post this, my life feels like it is spiraling out of control. First off, I'd like to say that I DO plan on finishing this story, but that will be only AFTER my life settles down a little bit.

Just so you all know a little of why I haven't updated in so long. First: I started nursing school, and those classes are brutal! Second, and more important to me, my mom has been suffering from cancer for a while now, and she is slowly dying from it. At this point, it could be any day now, and that is why I haven't updated in so long, I've been dealing with all this crap (of course it all hits at once) and it's been emotionally consuming and time consuming.

I wish everyone well, and thank you all for reading my story!

~Rosimae


	30. Chapter 30

Hey everyone! I'm finally updating! YAY! Anyways, an update on my life as well: Out of school for three weeks, work is crazy busy, and my mom is doing okay. Not close to being cured or feeling fantastic or anything, but better then she could be doing, so that's a plus at least. Course, if anyone has a great cure for swollen feet and legs, I'd love to know cause she's got a bad case and the meds the doctors have her on for it are NOT helping.

Anyway, on with the story! Hope you enjoy! And I apologize for any mistakes, clerical errors, grammatical errors, or others off stuff that may be in here in advance. I did not go through and proof read...too tired too!

**Thanks for reading and sticking with me!  
**

**Chapter 29: Rescued**

Ayamae hid it well, but she was beginning to panic. Neko-chan had searched everywhere in the rubble that she could reach and found no signs of Hao or Yoh.

"Anything?" Anna asked, coming to stand next to her friend, voice tight with worry.

Ayamae shook her head. "Which means they're in a place where fresh air can't get to them, or they're already d…de…dead…" Ayamae said, choking out the last word.

Anna reached out and grabbed her friend's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "They're down there, I know they are. And we'll find them." _And you better be alive Yoh. You just better be._

Ayamae nodded her head and squeezed Anna's hand in return. "You're right, we just need to keep looking." _Just don't let us be too late._

Ren and the others were still shifting rocks when they found a collapsed part of a tunnel.

"Over here!" Horohoro called, jumping down into the tunnel with Ren and Faust and clearing the rocks that blocked their progress. The others quickly joined in and soon they found themselves digging deeper into the tunnel until they could no longer fit their big oversouls inside and let them go.

Anna and Ayamae followed the others inside, watching as they shifted more rock to reveal a branching path.

"Ah man," Horohoro said as he noticed the two choices before them.

"This wasn't here when we came through," Lyserg pointed out.

"Which means this isn't the tunnel we came through," Chocolove said, forgoing all attempts at humor in the situation they faced.

"How many tunnels do you have?" Ryu wailed, kicking at a chunk of black rock.

Anna and Ayamae, who were finally allowing themselves to hope at the sight of the tunnel they were clearing, felt their hearts plummet. The past thirty minutes had been wasted on following a lead that wouldn't bring them any closer to Yoh or Hao.

"This way."

Everyone looked around at the quiet, timid voice. They saw no one.

"Over here Opacho is," Opacho said, and everyone focused their attention towards the ground, where Opacho was using her sheep form to sniff around.

"Hao and Yoh this way," Opacho said, indicating the left path.

Everyone stood, staring at the little girl covered in lamb's wool.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Anna demanded, tapping her foot.

"Start digging," Ayamae said. This time though, both Anna and Ayamae joined in, which made the others realize how worried they were and made them wonder what Anna and Ayamae knew that they were not telling.

What they were not telling was the fact that no fresh air was able to reach Yoh and Hao, the Spirit of Wind continued to confirm this fact, and without knowing how much air Yoh and Hao had been trapped with, they didn't know how long the two boys had. If they had any time left.

Deeper in the tunnel, in the small bubble provided for them by their spirits, Yoh and Hao continued to struggle to breath. Neither one had been able to even think about using their shaman powers to get out anymore, all their energy was focused on dragging in what little oxygen remained around them.

"Hao," Yoh whispered, unable to speak any louder.

"Yeah Yoh," Hao said, equally as quiet.

"I'm glad I got to know you. And I'm glad we're at least together."

"Don't talk like that Yoh," Hao said, feeling truly frightened for the first time in his life. "We still have a lot to learn about each other. And a lot of time to spend together. We'll get out of here, I just know it."

Yoh chuckled. "I thought," he began, then took a moment to try and catch his breath, but it was impossible.

"Wha?" Hao said, voice fading.

"I thought I was the optimistic one," Yoh said, so softly he wasn't sure Hao could hear.

Hao chuckled weakly. "Me too."

Both boys fell silent as their breathing slowed down. Amidamaru listened, terrified, as Yoh's breathing became more and more shallow.

"Yoh-dono," Amidamaru whispered quietly.

"Ami…dama…ru," Yoh gasped out, before falling unconscious.

"Yoh-dono!" Amidamaru yelled, just as there was a loud cracking noise and several rocks shifted.

A sudden breeze filled the room, bringing much needed oxygen to the two boys.

"Yoh! Hao!" Ren's voice came through the cracks on the wind. "You in there?"

Unfortunately, both boys were unconscious and unable to answer.

However, "There here!" Amidamaru called out. "Keep going straight ahead!"

"We're coming," Horohoro called. "Just hang on."

SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSK

Relief and dread filled the stomachs of the group as they struggled with renewed energy to reach their fallen comrades. Ayamae continued to feed fresh air through the cracks in the rocks, focusing all her energy on getting the two boys to breath, but it was hard work. Their bodies, so long deprieved of oxygen, seemed to have forgotten how to breath properly, and without actually being there there, Ayamae could only hope her oxygen was getting to them.

Neko-chan came back to assure Ayamae and Anna shortly that the two boys had started breathing again, before disappearing back through the cracks to keep an eye on them and continue bringing them oxygen.

It took several more hours to finish shifting the rocks and make sure they wouldn't tumble back down on everyone once it was moved, but soon they were able to see the glows of Amidamaru and the Spirit of Fire that were surrounding Yoh and Hao. All of them wanted to rush forward to check on the boys, but decided to leave it to Ren and Horohoro to squeeze in the gap they had made and bring the boys out.

Ren and Horohoro threw the two brothers over their shoulders, and everyone made a hasty retreat from the oppressive black rocks that surrounded them.

Once in the open, Ren and Horohoro lay the twins down and stood back to let Faust and Eliza look at them. Anna and Ayamae stood anxiously right behind the doctor, waiting to hear what Faust had to say.

"They've been oxygen deprived, and their minds have fallen into a healing state now that oxygen has been returned. They should be okay, but they need rest. As do we all," Faust concluded, sitting back on his haunches.

"Let's get everyone in the car," Asim said, wiping his sweaty, dirty brow. "We'll head home and rest in the comfort of real beds."

Everyone nodded in agreement and trudged towards the van, all of them sweaty, tired, and streaked with black dust from the tunnels, but elated that they had found Yoh and Hao and that everyone would, eventually, be alright.


	31. Chapter 31

Hey all, I'm updating again! YAY! Although this one is rather short, and I don't know how much I like it...Oh well, hopefully I can get the story/plot line moving again shortly. Just had to get all these filler parts out of the way.

I hope I stayed in character here, although I probably didn't. I should go and watch some Shaman King cause I'm forgetting what the characters are like and am implementing my own idea of characters in...hmmmmm...Shaman King, here I come.

**Hope you enjoy! **

P.S. I do like reviews! =^.^=**  
**

P.P.S. I don't own Shaman King :'(**  
**

**Chapter 30: Watching and Waiting**

Ayamae and Anna listened to the others tell of what had occurred since they parted ways while Asim drove them all back to his house. The drive was a long one, but Yoh and Hao remained unconscious for the entirety of it.

"So, what do we do now?" Horohoro asked once they had finished relaying the tale to Anna and Ayamae.

Anna and Ayamae were quiet for some time until, "There's only one thing to do," Ayamae finally said.

"What?" Ryu asked, leaning in close.

"I have to speak with Veriache," Ayamae said.

"Who?" the boys all chorused.

"Her mother," Anna said.

"How is your mother going to help with this?" Ren asked slowly after recovering from his shock.

"She is the one who trained me, after all," Ayamae said.

"She must be scary," Chocolove said with a shiver, after all, Ayamae still frightened him.

"We have to find out what she knows," Ayamae continued as though she had not been interrupted. "She's the only other person I know of who would know what to do in this situation."

"Then we'll go," Anna said with a nod.

"After," Faust interrupted.

"After what?" Horohoro asked, confused.

"After Yoh and Hao are recovered, and we've all had some rest," Faust replied.

"Then it's a good thing we're here," Asim said, pulling up into his long driveway and parking the van.

"There you are," Delila said as they all tumbled out of the car. "I was getting worried." Her brows creased as she watched Ryu and Faust lift Yoh and Hao out of the van. "Should I call a doctor?"

"It's okay, Delila," Faust said. "I am a doctor."

"Oh, right, sorry, I forgot," Delila said, hurrying to open the doors and usher the exhausted shamans inside. "Well, let's get them upstairs to their rooms. And the rest of you as well, you all look bushed."

SKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSKSK

It was sometime later, after everyone else had fallen asleep, that found Anna and Ayamae sitting next to the bedsides of their betrothed. Both fell asleep with their heads resting on the beds, holding the hand of the boy they loved.

The night passed quietly, the only sound that of the snores echoing from the sleeping shamans' rooms.

Yoh groaned, his eyes fluttering open. He glanced around to see who was holding his hand and a small smile softened his face when he saw Anna, fast asleep. It didn't look like a very comfortable position, her sitting in the chair like that, but Yoh was glad she was there.

"Yoh-dono," Amidamaru whispered in the dark.

"Amidamaru," Yoh said, turning his eyes to his spirit guardian.

"I'm glad you are okay," Amidamaru said.

"Thanks to you I am," Yoh said. "Thank you."

"My pleasure," Amidamaru said. "Get some rest, I hear we have much to do in the morning. I will watch over you."

"Thanks, Amidamaru," Yoh said, stifling a yawn as his eyes slipped closed. He was, after all, still extremely tired.

Amidamaru smiled as he watched Yoh drift back to sleep. Keeping a silent vigil at the window, Amidamaru looked out and watched the stars twinkle outside. Who knew how long they would have to rest, or when their next chance at a quiet night would be, so for now, Amidamaru was content to watch and to wait.


	32. Chapter 32

I really have no excuse for why I haven't updated in possibly forever...my only defense is that life has gotten extremely busy lately and my interests have turned elsewhere...But I will try to finish this! Hopefully with more regular updates! I am sorry for the long wait and I know this chapter cannot make up for it in the slightest. I promise that more action will be coming soon!

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shaman King!

**Chapter 31: Veriache**

Yoh and Hao drifted in and out of being awake for the better part of two days, which put both Anna and Ayamae into foul moods. Unfortunately, these moods were taken out on the other shamans because Yoh and Hao were out of commission. So, it was with great pleasure that Ren and the others walked in on the second day from a grueling and altogether unpleasant training session to find Yoh and Hao up and in the kitchen, eating.

"Well it's about time," Ren mumbled as he collapsed into a chair next to Yoh.

"Yeah, your girlfriends are trying to kill us," Horohoro said once assuring himself that said girls were not in the room.

Chocolove, Lyserg, and Ryu all just groaned as they sank thankfully into chairs around the table. Only Faust had been spared the training sessions and that was because he had been assigned to take care of Yoh and Hao.

Yoh laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that."

"It couldn't have been that bad," Hao said, suppressing a yawn.

Ren glared at Hao.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was the worst training session ever," Ryu said.

"All of Anna's training sessions are bad," Yoh said.

"Is that anyway to thank me?" Anna asked, her voice flat as she and Ayamae appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

Yoh felt the blood drain from his face as he turned towards his scowling fiancé. "Anna, I didn't see you there," he said.

Anna glared at him some more before moving into the kitchen and claiming the open seat next to Yoh. Despite the cold tone and anger on her face, Anna gently brushed a hand down Yoh's leg as she sat, letting him know that she was glad he was okay.

"We didn't even get through everything I had planned for today," Ayamae said, sailing in and taking the seat next to Hao with a sigh. "But I guess that will have to wait now."

"What?" Horohoro asked, food spraying from his overstuffed mouth.

"We leave tomorrow morning," Anna said. "Manta, you have the plane ready, yes."

"Um, well," Manta stuttered from his seat next to Opacho. "I didn't realize…" The glare from Anna and Ayamae made him swallow. "Right, I'll get that all set up."

"Well, I admit I'll be sad to see you leave," Delila said as she brought more dishes of food out and placed them on the table.

"You will simply have to come back and see us again," Asim said. "And Manta, keep practicing."

Manta nodded as everyone began to dig in.

That night the boys fell asleep quickly, completely exhausted from the day of training, but they were rudely awoken the next morning at 4 am.

"Up," Ayamae said, banging their doors open and flipping on the lights.

"Aya," Hao moaned as she slammed his and Yoh's door open and flooded their room with light.

"Up," Ayamae said. "You've had two days to laze about. You'll have to put in extra practice to make up for that."

Yoh looked sleepily up at Ayamae before sending a sympathetic glance towards his brother.

"You too, Yoh," Anna said, standing behind Ayamae. Both girls were already up and dressed and looked as though they had been awake for hours, despite the horribly early time of day. They both shot one more glare at the boys before continuing on down the hall, banging open more doors.

"Amidamaru," Yoh cried when his sleep muddled brain finally comprehended the fact that he had to do more training.

"Yoh-dono," Amidamaru sympathized.

Both boys got out of bed and pulled on their clothes before heading downstairs, where they met everyone else, all of whom seemed sleep mussed and confused at the early morning.

"Yoh," Manta said, coming to stand beside his best friend.

"Morning Manta," Yoh said, dredging up a smile for his friend. "Know what we're doing up this early?"

Manta nodded. "My father's company needed the plane later this afternoon, so Anna and Ayamae said we needed to fly out before then. Sorry."

"So this is your fault?" Horhohoro asked, half his hair smooshed flat where he had obviously slept on it.

"It was this or 7 pm," Ayamae announced, gliding into the room like it was a perfectly normal time of day. "And we needed to leave early rather than later."

Everyone groaned and moaned, but eventually they all piled into the van and made their way to the airport.

"Well, I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer," Delila said, standing in her husband's embrace as they said their farewells.

"Come visit us again when the world isn't in trouble," Asim said.

"We will," Chocolove said, waving to his old friends. "Thank you!"

"Good luck!" Delila called.

The flight home was uneventful, given the fact that they all slept through the event, and upon return the group thankfully unburdened themselves at Anna and Yoh's place.

Yoh wandered into his bedroom, that was now Hao's bedroom as well, and noticed Hao staring out the window.

"Hey, you know when we are going to meet Ayamae's mother?" Yoh asked.

"She's already left," Hao said.

"She didn't want us coming?"

"No, she said we were to stay here and train with Anna."

"Why?"

"YOH! HAO! IDIOTS! DOWN HERE NOW!" Anna's voice rang through the house.

"I don't answer to idiot," Ren grumbled as he walked past Yoh's and Hao's bedroom door.

"Does he realize that's exactly what he's doing?" Hao whispered so only Yoh could here. Yoh choked back a laugh.

"We'd best get down there," Yoh said and the two headed out, following their friends.

Yoh was surprised to find that both Opacho and Manta were going to be joining them for practice, for they were line up waiting for instructions with the others.

"Right," Anna began, hands behind her back. "It's time for my super special, secret killer, work for it training." She grinned at them all as Yoh went pale.

Ayamae made her way to the large property that housed her family, and more importantly, her mother. She wasn't normally wary of approaching anyone, especially when it had to do with what she had been trained to do since birth, but she had stormed out of her mother's training session three years ago, and hadn't seen her since, so she was apprehensive, to say the least.

Reaching the door to the house she knew her mother was in, she paused for a second, collecting her thoughts. With a deep breath she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Mother, I'm home," Ayamae called, looking around.

"In the kitchen," came her mother's voice, the same soft spoken, sweet voice that Ayamae remembered.

Ayamae made her way into the kitchen and promptly ducked as a knife flew straight where she had been a split second before.

"You're losing your touch," Veriache scolded. "Time was you woulda plucked that right outta the air."

"Right," Ayamae said, turning around and tugging the kitchen knife out from where it was embedded in the wall.

"Well? What do you want? You wouldn't be back here if you didn't need something, so out with it," Veriache said, turning back to her task of dicing vegetables.

"Mother, we have a problem," Ayamae said, coming to stand next to her mother. With a flick of her fingers the wind pulled her hair from her face and Ayamae began dicing the onions that were now in front of her. Ayamae smiled as Neko-chan pulled the smell of the onions out from under her nose. She hated when she teared up while chopping onions.

"What have you done this time," Veriache asked of her wayward daughter.

"It's the prophecy," Ayamae said. "It's coming true."


	33. Chapter 33

Yay! I updated again! I can't promise it will always be this regular, but I am trying! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and story alerted/favorited! It helps a lot!

I have noticed that it is extremely hard to write a lot of characters, which Shaman King has, so if you feel like I am not giving enough attention to a certain character, let me know. Keep in mind, however, that this is mostly about Yoh and Hao so...yeah, they are the main ones.

Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King...but that doesn't keep the plot bunnies away!

**Chapter 32: Cal Returns**

"Has it been two hours yet?" Yoh asked, legs shaking as much as the others as they held their squatting position.

Anny looked down at the timer she was holding. The timer that hadn't even been set to count down any amount of time, let alone two hours.

"No," she said before picking her magazine back up.

"Wha?" Horohoro asked, his breathing heavy.

"Too much for you?" Ren asked, although even he was feeling breathless, his legs shaking. "Why, in my country we hold this pose for 33 hours."

"Amazing," Bason said, hovering next to Ren.

"Oh, not that again," Horohoro moaned, rolling his eyes.

"Noggin hat again!" Chocolove cried out, suddenly producing a pointed cone hat and placing it on his head.

In a flash the hat was cut in half and Ren was standing up, his weapon in hand. "You're not funny."

Several beats of silence passed before:

"HAHAHAHAHAHA, noggin hat! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Concentration broken, everyone fell over before turning to stare at Pirika and Tamao, both of whom were rolling on their sides, tears streaming from their eyes as they laughed. Laughter soon broke out among the shamans after that, feeling the relief of the tension that they had felt since they had started holding that pose.

"You have to start over now," Anna said bluntly, and the laughter abruptly stopped.

"A…Anna," Yoh said, dragging her name out before snapping his mouth shut.

"Now," Anna said, glaring at all of them. Shakily the shamans got to their feet.

"Time to go," a new voice announced and the shamans had to admit they had never been happier to see Ayamae walking up to them.

"Aya," Anna smiled, getting up to hug her friend.

"Training them hard?" Ayamae asked.

"Them, training hard?" Anna asked.

Ayamae laughed. "Should have known. Well, no time now, we have to go."

"Go where?" Hao asked, coming up beside Ayamae and giving her a brief smile, which she returned briefly before spinning around.

"Come on," she said, and with that began marching back down the street, Anna next to her as they bent their heads and began talking.

"Why do I feel like we've been left out of the loop again?" Lyserg asked.

"Maybe cause we always are," Ryu replied. "But that's them for you."

Yoh laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "We'd better catch up before they get mad."

"They're not my fiancés," Ren grumbled. "Why do I have to listen to them?"

"You don't have to you know," a new voice chipped in, and everyone turned to see Cal standing there, arms crossed. "You could join me. Abandon this foolish quest, I can give you everything you've ever dreamed of."

"Yeah right!" Horohoro shouted as he called Kororo to him.

"Why would we listen to you, you tried to have us killed!" Chocolove pointed out.

"But that was before I realized your true potential. Hao, you know my power, you know what we could accomplish together."

All eyes turned to Hao, who in turned glared at Cal. Ren felt his hands tighten on his weapon, Bason at the ready. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next, but he knew that if he needed to, he would destroy Hao.

"I wasted thousands of years serving you as you promised me the world," Hao spat. "Now that I no longer serve you, I've realized that I had the world before and had given it up. I will not turn my back on my friends."

Cal narrowed his eyes before flicking them over to Yoh. "What of you, Yoh. You could have power beyond imagining. You could get away from that abusive woman who claims to love you."

"Anna, well, Anna is hard to understand," Yoh said and despite the tense atmosphere around his friends his voice remained lighthearted. "But I love her. Why would I want to get away from her?"

Cal looked shocked and outraged. "I am offering you the world! More power than you could possibly dream of! How could you turn it down?"

"You wouldn't understand!" Ren spat out. He had worried for a brief moment that Hao was going to listen to Cal, return to his old ways, but then he had noticed the way Hao had stepped protectively in front of Yoh, despite the fact that Yoh was perfectly able to take care of himself. It made Ren realize that Hao really had changed.

"What is there to understand? Besides the foolishness of man?"

"You will never understand," Manta spoke up from where he was standing protectively beside Opacho. The two had struck up some sort of friendship that bordered on something more.

"You will never know the true meaning of friendship," Ryu said, Tokageru floating beside him.

"You will never understand love," Faust said, one arm wrapped around Eliza.

"Power is the only thing I need!" Cal cried, launching a dark ball of energy directly at the group of shamans.

Lights flared as their spirits flew into action, blocking the attacks and protecting their partners and friends.

Yoh ran forward between his friends, swinging Spirit of Sword around and clashing with a dark blade that Cal brought up to block his blow. Hao ran forward, following his brother's lead as he called out the Spirit of Fire in sword form to attack. Cal brought forth a second sword, blocking the blow of that as well before pushing both twins away from him.

The others launched into a coordinated attacked, never ceasing their assault on the possessed man before them. Even Pirika, Tamao, and Jun, along with Manta and Opacho, joined in with the fight, although they were more likely to pull someone away from a blow than to try to land the blows themselves.

None of the fighting shamans noticed Anna and Ayamae standing off to one side, watching the battle unfold.

"Shouldn't we go help them," Anna asked.

Ayamae shrugged her shoulder. "They're doing wonderfully on their own. Don't tell them I said that though."

"You know I wouldn't," Anna replied, grinning slightly. She felt a well of pride build up in her chest at how well the others were fighting together. Truly they made a wonderful team.

"I will not be defeated!" Cal yelled, and a field of black energy burst from him, throwing everyone back to the ground. Cal turned, eyes burning furiously to fix on Yoh and Hao, who were stumbling to their feet together, helping each other up.

"This is not the end," Cal shouted. A twist of lightning like black energy shot from his hand, straight for the two brothers.

"NO!" Ayamae yelled, leaping in front of the still disoriented twins. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Hao again. The black lightning hit her square in the chest and Ayamae collapsed; Hao and Yoh both reaching out and catching her before she hit the ground.

Haha, hoped you liked it! I will try to update soon!...


	34. Chapter 34

Sorry this update has been a long time in coming. Life decided to slap me with some hard times. But my goal is to finish this story, so I'll try for more regular update! Reviews make it happen quicker, so thank you to all who have reviewed so far. You make it possible for me to continue!

ENJOY!

I do NOT own Shaman King...

"This is not the end," Cal shouted. A twist of lightning like black energy shot from his hand, straight for the two brothers.

"NO!" Ayamae yelled, leaping in front of the still disoriented twins. She couldn't bear the thought of losing Hao again. The black lightning hit her square in the chest and Ayamae collapsed; Hao and Yoh both reaching out and catching her before she hit the ground.

**Chapter 34: Ayamae's Mother**

"How dare you!" Hao cried out, turning his gaze towards Cal, but he was gone.

"Ayamae!" Yoh cried, shaking the unresponsive girl. Hao turned his gaze back to his fiancé, worry flooding him. He didn't want to lose her again, not after he had just found her.

"Ayamae," Hao said, reaching out to stroke her cheek. A shudder ran through Ayamae's body and her face twisted in a grimace of pain.

"Faust!" Yoh called, looking up as Hao pulled Ayamae into his arms.

"Here, Yoh," Faust said, kneeling down beside the twins, Eliza holding his med kit out while he listening to her heart and took her vitals.

After checking a few other things Faust leaned back, a frown marring his face.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Hao asked.

"I'm not sure," Faust said. "Physically, I can find nothing wrong with her, besides the fact that she's unconscious. And I have no way of knowing what Cal did to her."

"But-" Hao began before Yoh cut him off with a hand on his arm and a shake of his head. Yoh understood how much Faust hated admitting he didn't know what was going on.

"We've got to get her to her mother's," Anna said, appearing behind Yoh and making him jump slightly.

"Her mother's? We've got to get her to a hospital!" Horohoro cried.

"No," Anna said. "Let's go." With that, she turned and began walking in the direction they had headed not too long ago, keeping her face turned from the others so they couldn't see the worry etched across it.

"Come on Hao," Yoh said, and Hao slowly got to his feet, keeping Ayamae cradled bridal style as they followed Anna down the street.

By the time they reached the large estate Hao's arms were shaking from supporting Ayamae's weight, but he wouldn't let anyone else carry her. Periodically tremors would shake through her, causing her to moan, but Hao only held her closer and walked faster.

"What's happened?" a voice demanded as they walked onto the estate's grounds. Everyone looked up to find themselves face to face with an older looking Ayamae, her black hair pulled into a ponytail and streaked with grey.

"Veriache," Anna greeted.

"Anna," Veriache acknowledged. "What has happened to my daughter?"

"We were attacked on our way here," Yoh explained when no sound came from Anna. "Ayamae saved us."

"Oh course she did, the foolish girl," Veriache said. "Come, we must get her inside, quickly."

Everyone followed Veriache inside as she led them into a bedroom, where Hao gently placed Ayamae on the bed.

"So, tell me, the magic she was hit with, what did it look like?" Veriache demanded as she bent over her daughter, shooing Hao out of the way.

"Like black lightning," Anna said, voice shaking just slightly. Yoh glanced over at her, concerned and curious. It sounded as if Anna knew what was wrong with Ayamae.

"Hmm," Veriache said. "There's a violet colored vial in the kitchen, third cupboard from the left. Fetch it for me."

Yoh and the others moved to go, but Anna was already out the door. Not two minutes later she was back, handing a vial filled with dark purple liquid to Veriache. Veriache poured a small mouthful into Ayamae's mouth and coaxed her to swallow. Then she leaned back and studied the group that crowded into the room.

"There's nothing else to do here now except to wait," Veriache explained.

"But, what's wrong with her? What was that you just gave her?" Hao asked.

Veriache eyed Hao with distaste. "You must be Hao," she said. "Come, let us go into the kitchen and I will explain what I know."

"I'll stay here," Anna said. "Ayamae already filled me in on most of it."

"Very well," Veriache said. "Come."

Hao and Yoh hesitated, but with a sharp glare from Anna both boys left the room, following the others to the kitchen.

Veriache was silent as she dished up homemade chicken noodle soup for everyone, and soon they were all seated around the dining table.

"First off, I understand my daughter told you all about the prophesy," Veriache stated. "And that she believes you are the ones talked of in the prophesy. Well, after what she has told me, I believe she is correct. And from what I understand, the Morning Star has been retrieved by a man now possessed by the Shadow King. And now Ayamae has been attacked by dark magic, magic that can only be cast with the Morning Star. When she said we had a problem, I did not realize the extent."

"But what does it all mean?" Ryu asked when Veriache was silent for several minutes.

"It means, the prophesy is coming to pass faster than any of us could anticipate," Veriache explained.

"But, this dark magic, will Ayamae be okay?" Hao asked.

Veriache sighed. "Ayamae is one of the most talented shamans I have ever known. Not only that, but she was taught by me. If anyone can recover from an attack like that, she can. But only time will tell."

"What's it done?" Yoh asked.

"I'm," Veriache paused, pressing her lips together. "I'm not sure. Now finish eating. I've had rooms prepared for each of you and there's much to do tomorrow, so you need to get plenty of rest." With that Veriache stood up and swept from the room.

Everyone stared at each other, left more confused than before.

"Does anyone get the feeling she just lied to us about not knowing?" Ren finally asked, breaking the stretching silence.

"Yes," Hao said, absentmindedly stirring his soup.

"Well," Yoh began, trying to lighten the mood. "Like she said, there's nothing to do but wait, so we might as well try and get some rest, right Nii-chan."

"You guys get some rest, I'm going to check on Ayamae," Hao said, standing up and leaving his soup mostly untouched.

Yoh stood up to follow his brother but Ren reached out an arm and stopped him. "I think he needs some time alone," Ren said.

Yoh nodded. "I'm just worried."

"We all are," Faust said.

"But, we'd better try and get some rest, if what Veriache said was true," Lyserg pointed out. The others nodded and headed off in search of their rooms for some much needed sleep.

Hao made his way back to the room Ayamae was in and found Anna sitting by the bedside.

"She hasn't woken up," Anna said as Hao walked in.

"I just wanted to check on her," Hao said.

"I'm capable of keeping an eye on her," Anna replied. "But, since you're here, I'm going to get something to eat." With that, Anna stood up and left the room.

Hao supposed that was Anna's way of excusing herself without admitted she recognized that he needed some time alone with Ayamae, and he was grateful. He sat in Anna's vacated chair and took Ayamae's hand in his.

"Aya, you need to wake up," Hao whispered. "Please, for me."

_Ayamae was running again, only this time, she wasn't sure if she was running towards something, or away. She tripped, stumbled, pulled herself back to her feet and pain shot through her body._

'_Gotta keep going,' she thought to herself. _

'_Yes, but where?' the strange voice asked her._

'_Away!'_

'_Away from what?'_

'_From you!'_

_Ayamae tripped again and pain rippled through her body, causing her to shudder. Darkness surrounded her, closing in, and she felt as though she couldn't breathe. She couldn't see anything, she was surrounded by the dark._

'_Now what?' the voice asked, taunting._

'_Now I'll…I'll…' but Ayamae couldn't think, couldn't remember what she was doing, where she was. What was happening to her._

'_You're mine now,' the voice said, triumphantly._

"You need to wake up," _a voice called to Ayamae, breaking through the darkness._ "Please, for me." _Ayamae saw that ray of light and sprinted towards it while the voice howled behind her. She wouldn't give up. Not yet. Not while she could still run._


	35. Chapter 35

It's short, and not much happens, but it's an update! Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 35: The Nightmare Continues**

Ayamae tossed in the bed, her breathing coming in ragged gasps. Hao frowned, leaning over her and wiping her forehead with a cool cloth.

"Ayamae, please," Hao whispered. A small knock sounded on the door and Yoh poked his head in.

"Any change?" Yoh asked his brother.

"I think she's getting worse," Hao said, clenching his hands around the cloth until they shook, his knuckles white.

Yoh walked in and placed a hand on Hao's shoulder. "It'll be okay, you'll see. Everything will work out."

Hao gave a short, humorless chuckle. "Yeah, sure."

"It will," Yoh insisted. "Trust me."

Hao looked up, meeting Yoh's eyes. "I do," he said. "I just can't bear the thought of losing her again."

Yoh pulled his brother into a hug. "I know," he said. Hao stiffened against Yoh before relaxing, relishing in the comfort. This was something he had never had before – a brother to speak to, to confide in, to comfort him.

"No!" Both boys broke apart at the yell, turned towards the bed, where Ayamae was tossing more violently, muttering to herself. "Get away. NO! Leave me alone!"

"Ayamae," Hao said, leaning forward and shaking her shoulder. "Ayamae, wake up."

_Ayamae was running again, trying to reach the light, but it never seemed to get closer._

'_You'll never make it,' the voice taunted, seeming to whisper right in her ear._

'_I will," Ayamae said._

'_You're already too late, you've failed.'_

'_No!' Ayamae cried._

'_Give up now, make it easier on yourself,' the voice continued, seeming to come from everywhere._

'_Get away!'_

'_I can't leave, I'm a part of you.'_

'_NO! Leave me alone!'_

"_Ayamae. Ayamae, wake up." _Someone was shaking her, her whole world was rocking.

'_Beware Ayamae…' the voice faded away._

Ayamae sat up, not seeing anything but darkness. _Have to get away,_ she thought. Pushing through the resistance she got to her feet, pulling away from whatever was trying to hold her back. The air was stuffy, too stuffy. She needed to get out. She needed fresh air.

Someone was calling her, talking to her, but she couldn't understand anything that they were saying. The pushing the sounds away, moving through the darkness until she felt soft grass beneath her feet.

Hao and Yoh were surprised when Ayamae started to get out of bed.

"Aya," Hao said, feeling relieved that she was up. But that relief was short lived when she didn't respond. Hao put his hand out but Ayamae pulled away, practically running from the room, pushing past Anna, who was on her way in to check on her.

"Aya-chan," Anna called, but she too was ignored. Hao, Yoh, and Anna shared a look, before following her through the house and outside.

"What's going on?" Ren called as they passed him and the others.

"We're not sure," Yoh said, a slight frown marring his face.

They watched as Ayamae walked out onto the grass, turning her face towards the forested area not far away.

"Welcome, my dear," Cal said, stepping from the shadows. Ayamae smiled.


	36. Chapter 36

Hooray! Another update! And this one has some action in it! Of course, I'm not great at writing action scenes, so I'm sorry, but its not the best. Hope you enjoy it anyways!

As Always: I don't own Shaman King

"Welcome, my dear," Cal said, stepping from the shadows. Ayamae smiled.

**Chapter 36: The Shadows Rise**

"Ayamae," Hao called, running up to her, but he was blown backwards by a harsh wind.

"My dear," Cal said, taking a step closer. "Why don't you take care of these annoyances before we begin?"

"As you wish my king," Ayamae said. She turned towards Hao and the others. "Neko-chan, care to help?"

A vicious growl echoed around as a large, black panther appeared behind Ayamae. It lashed its tail and the winds whipped up, tearing almost painfully into the shamans who stood facing their friend.

"Ayamae!" Yoh called. "What are you doing?"

Cal laughed. "She can no longer hear you, for she belongs to me now!"

"You're wrong!" Hao called.

"You only have to look into her eyes to know the truth. At last, the time has come to rise from the shadows, and she is the key to my return."

Hao, Yoh, Anna, and the others all turned to meet Ayamae's eyes, and found not the swirling grey depths they had become so used to, but black pits staring back at them.

Ayamae flexed her muscles and withdrew her Sais from the leg straps she kept them in.

"What do we do?" Anna asked.

"We have to stop him," Veriache replied.

"How?" Ren asked, fingers clenched around his staff.

"By defeating her," Veriache replied calmly.

"What?" Horohoro said.

"She's your own daughter and you want us to fight her?" Ryu asked, alarmed.

"It's the only way," Veriache said.

Hao clenched his hands into fists, shaking.

"She knew, didn't she?" Yoh asked, turning to face Veriache. "She knew we would end up having to face her. That's why she trained us to fight her."

"Yes," Veriache said. "She is the one spoken of in the prophesy, said to fall to the darkness in her heart."

"But, that was me," Hao said.

"No," Anna put in. "It couldn't have been you, you've been reborn more than once. Plus, you fell to the darkness before you died. I was a fool for not seeing it sooner."

"But, that means there's hope," Yoh said, and everyone turned to look at him. "She'll rise from the darkness with friends, remember."

"But how do we help her?" Hao asked.

"We fight," Manta said, rushing forward to block a blow that Ayamae launched at them. "For now, that's all we can do."

"It'll all work out in the end," Yoh said, running forward to help his short friend as he called on the Spirit of Sword.

Hao's lips twitched up in a smile, remembering how those words had annoyed him so much during his fight with this same group of shamans.

"Then let's fight," Hao said, and he joined in with the rest of the group, calling on the Spirit of Fire to take sword form.

Together Hao and Yoh rushed Ayamae, coming from both sides with swords raised. Ayamae caught both attacks with her Sais and pushed, and the wind blew the twins backwards. Faust, Ryu, and Lyserg stepped in, rushing forward together for an attack, but Ayamae dodged backwards.

Ren, Horohoro, and Manta were waiting though, and Ayamae found herself backing away from their attacks, on the defensive.

"What are you doing?" Cal yelled. "Attack them! Kill them! It's the only way!"

"No!" Hao yelled. "Don't listen to him. Ayamae, please. This isn't you."

"You're wrong," Ayamae said, her voice cold and flat. "I'm more me than I've ever been before." She lunged forwards, knocking Ren, Horohoro and Manta backwards before taking a swing at Yoh, who was advancing. Her Sai caught his arm and drew blood.

"That's it," Anna said, before she leapt into the fray. No one, not even her possessed best friend, got away with hurting her fiancé. Jun, Pirika, and Tamao all shared a quick glance before following Anna.

Even with attacks coming from every angle, Ayamae was fast. She dodged and swiped, ducked and slashed, drawing blood from nearly everyone. And whenever anyone got too close to her, the Spirit of Wind blew them all backwards.

But she hadn't been training them to fight the Shadow King. She hadn't spent weeks and months sparing against them in the off chance they would fight someone who might not even make it out of his shadow prison. No, she had been sparing with them so they knew what her fighting style was like. So they knew how to beat her.

So, after a particularly strong gust of wind knocked them all back, they staggered to their feet, forming a perfect circle around Ayamae with Yoh directly behind her and Hao directly ahead.

"Finish them off already!" Cal called, and Ayamae tightened her grip on her Sais, spinning in a full circle before facing Hao once more.

"Now!" Yoh yelled and everyone dashed forwards at once.

Ayamae dodged Manta, Pirika, Jun, and Tamao. She blocked Ren, Horohoro, Ryu, Faust, and Lyserg as she spun into the air on a jump. She twisted on the way back down, and found herself pinned between Yoh and Hao. Yoh held her arms down as Hao held the Spirit of Fire sword to her neck. The wind whipped furiously around the trio, but Amidamaru held it off, creating a sort of shield against the enraged wind spirit.

"Go ahead," Ayamae said, eyes still black, voice still flat. "Kill me. It won't save your precious world."

"Aya," Hao whispered. He lowered his arm, sword disappearing.

"You're a fool," Ayamae said, struggling against Yoh's hold.

Hao smiled. "You've always said love makes fools of everyone." With that he pulled Ayamae into a tight hug. Yoh released her, stepping back just slightly as Ayamae seemed to relax in Hao's arms.

"Big mistake," Ayamae said, voice still flat. She raised her right arm, still clutching her Sai, and poised it right over Hao's heart.


	37. Chapter 37

_Haha, another update! It's short, but I felt that it needed to end there, it just seemed _right_. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King, but that would be awesome!  
_

"Big mistake," Ayamae said, voice still flat. She raised her right arm, still clutching her Sai, and poised it right over Hao's heart.

**Chapter 37: The Shadow's Retreat**

Hao could feel Ayamae's arm swing down, and knew this was it. He was going to die. Only this time, he wouldn't be reborn. He had given up the Shadow King's power. This life was his last life to live.

He looked up into the eyes of the woman he loved. At least, if he had to die, he would die holding her, just as she had died all those years ago. Her shadow filled eyes met his dark brown ones, and in them Hao saw their lifetimes together, this one and the previous one.

Yoh watched as Ayamae lowered her arm and didn't know what to do. He could vaguely hear the others yelling at him, telling him to stop her, to put an end to this, but he found he couldn't move. There was something in Hao's eyes that froze him where he stood, despite the danger his twin was in.

It seemed the whole world held its breath as Ayamae swung her Sai downwards, and stopped. Yoh blinked as both Sais hit the ground with a clatter, leaving Ayamae standing there in Hao's arms, hands hanging limply by her waist.

"Ayamae," Hao said, not breaking eye contact with her. Her eyes were still swirling with shadows, her face still blank, but Hao could tell the Shadow King's hold on her was lessening. "It's okay, Ayamae, we're here for you," Hao continued, reaching up a hand to brush a wild strand of hair from her face. "I love you," Hao whispered this in her ear, feeling the tension leave her body.

"No!" Cal shouted, still standing far enough away that nobody had gone after him. "This isn't the end! Ayamae!"

Hao felt Ayamae stiffen again, and before he could do anything she had broken out of his embrace. She spun, grabbing a stunned Yoh and practically throwing him over her shoulder and into Hao.

With Yoh's concentration broken, Amidamaru's shield disappeared, and the Spirit of Wind burst in, swirling around Ayamae. Hao and Yoh struggled to get back on their feet as Ren and the others rushed towards Ayamae.

Ren spun his halberd, slamming it into the ground and causing hundreds of spears and spikes to rise up, chasing Ayamae's footsteps. Ayamae leapt, spinning in the air. The wind around her died as a huge panther took form, Ayamae landing on its back.

The panther spun around, growling at the shamans, and a burst of light broke free, hitting Ren and the others and sending them all careening back into the twins, who had just regained their feet.

The panther turned and ran, Ayamae still on its back, straight into a dark portal that Cal had just walked in. The portal disappeared as everyone tried to regain their feet.

"AYAMAE!" Hao yelled, rushing to where the portal had been seconds before. Hao collapsed to his knees, feeling as if the very ground were caving in. For the second time in his lifetimes he had lost her. He had failed to save her.


	38. Chapter 38

_Here's the next part! Sorry it's so short, but I'm tired and going to bed now!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King  
_

"AYAMAE!" Hao yelled, rushing to where the portal had been seconds before. Hao collapsed to his knees, feeling as if the very ground were caving in. For the second time in his lifetimes he had lost her. He had failed to save her.

**Chapter 38: Opacho Searches**

Yoh came to stand beside his brother, placing a hand on his arm. For once he was at a loss for words. _How_ could he comfort his brother when he didn't know what he'd do if it had been Anna instead.

Nobody moved for several minutes. Finally, "We'll find her, Nii-chan, I promise," Yoh said.

Hao pushed the feelings of hopelessness and failure aside. He could hear the worry and guilt laced in his brother's voice and found that it didn't fit with his brother's usual carefree attitude. He had to change that, but how?

Last time he had lost Ayamae, he had given into the darkness in his heart and almost destroyed the world. Almost destroyed his own brother, who had become one of the most important people to him in the world. Last time, he had lost her because of the fear and ignorance of the human race. This time, he had lost her to the very thing he had embraced last time. Only, this time, he would fight it. He wouldn't give back into the darkness.

"I know, Yoh," Hao said, getting to his feet. "I know." Yoh could see the steely determination in his brother's eyes and smiled.

"Opacho will look," came a quiet voice, and the twins turned to see Opacho lower herself to sit cross legged on the ground. Her eyes went white, her face screwed up into concentration.

"What do you see," Hao said, kneeling beside the small girl. He had forgotten how useful she was in the rush of everything that had been going on, but now he felt the same fondness that had drawn him to her to begin with. It wasn't a romantic feeling he had towards her, more like a desire to protect her, and he had never been able to figure out where it came from.

"Opacho sees lots of dark shadows. A forest of some kind."

"Where at?" Yoh asked. "Can you tell?"

"Opacho thinks America, but Opacho can't tell where in America."

"Well then," Anna said from behind Yoh, causing him to jump. "Let's go to America. Ren, get a jet ready."

"Why me?" Ren asked.

"Because," Anna deadpanned. "You're family has 32 jets."

"33," Ren said proudly. "We replaced the one that was destroyed last time we flew to America."

"What is with your family and the number 33?" Horohoro muttered.


	39. Chapter 39

_Another short chapter, It's hard finding the time to write right now. Hope you enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King_

**Chapter 39: Billy Returns**

The flight to America was surprisingly uneventful, with only a couple of small fights breaking out between the passengers. These were, of course, stopped quite quickly by a silent glare from Anna. Stepping out of the small airport they had landed in, they looked around.

"So," Horohoro said. "What do we do now?"

Tamao pulled out a map. "I could try scrying," she suggested.

"No," Anna said. "It takes you too long. Lyserg, you do it."

"Me?" Lyserg asked as Ryu comforted the pink haired girl.

"That's what I said," Anna said.

Lyserg sighed before he took the map from Tamao and laid it out on the ground.

"Morphine," he called, and watched as his spirit entered his crystal pendulum. Morphine zoomed around the map a few times before zoning in on somewhere in Oregan. "I'll be able to get a better idea of the location when we get there," Lyserg said, rolling up the map.

"Alright, let's go," Hao said, standing up from where he had been sitting next to Yoh.

"Um oh, how are we going to get there?" Yoh asked.

"Leave that to me, master," Ryu said, jumping up with his wooden sword. "Oversoul Big Thumb!"

The group watched as Ryu used his hitch hiking oversoul. And watched…and watched…

Ryu's hair was beginning to wilt and the group was beginning to question whether this was going to work. Meanwhile, a blue truck sat behind a line of baby geese crossing the road, the driver tapping impatiently at the steering wheel.

"I don't think he's coming," Ren said.

"Don't talk about Billy that way," Ryu said.

"I have to agree with Ren," Hao said, feeling frustrated that they had spent two hours doing nothing but waiting for a ride.

"What else can we do though?" Horohoro asked.

Anna growled in frustration, her eyebrow twitching.

"We could call for a ride," Manta said, holding up a cell phone.

"A ride on the tide!" Chocolove said, standing up and acting as though he were surfing. Ren spun his halberd, poking Chocolove in the nose. Chocolove jumped up and down, holding the wounded facial feature.

"Bwahahahaha," Pirika and Tamao suddenly burst out laughing, rolling on the ground and clutching their stomachs.

"That was a good one," Tamao gasped between fits of laughter.

"Ride, tide," Pirika was practically crying.

Jun looked down at the two, shaking her head, a small smile on her face.

"This isn't accomplishing anything," Hao growled, pacing back and forth.

"Hao," Yoh said so only his brother could hear. "Relax, it's their way of dealing with the stress."

"Dealing with the stress?" Hao said, his voice rising. Then he looked at Yoh, feeling his anger drain away. How had he ever found the boy irritating was beyond him. Yoh just had a sort of calming presence that could put you at ease, no matter what you were feeling. "Sorry," Hao said.

"It's okay," Yoh said, smiling. Hao managed a smile back, it was hard not to, Yoh's smiles were infectious. "Ryu, maybe we should just start walking."

"No," Ryu said, his furyoku flickering. "Come on Billy."

"Dude, he's not coming," Ren said.

"You are wearing yourself out," Faust said quietly, watching Ryu with concern.

"Let's go," Horohoro said, turning to start walking down the road. Just then a blue truck came to a screeching halt, right in front of Ryu.

"Billy!" Ryu shouted, running to the driver's side to high five his friend.

"Yo," Billy said. "Need a ride?"


	40. Chapter 40

_I had the hardest time with the chapter, and honestly, I wasn't even sure if I was going to post it. But, well, here it is...still not sure if I like though. Just thought we needed a little filler...a lighter episode, so to speak...  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King  
_

**Chapter 40: N. Milda's Bed and Breakfast**

"Thanks Billy," Yoh called as Billy drove off, leaving them in front of a small bed and breakfast. They were no where near where they needed to be, but it was getting late and everyone was tired, so they entered the facility, hoping someone was home.

Luck was one their side as a woman in her twenties entered the main room and gave them a smile. Yoh smiled back, ignoring the look Hao shot him.

"Hello, I am N. Milda. How can I help you?"

"Hello, we were wondering if we could check in for the night," Yoh said.

"You've got quite the group here," the woman replied, nodding towards the exhausted hodgepodge of people standing in the reception area.

Lyserg rubbed at his eyes, obviously more tired than he thought. Ren was rather surprised that Ryu hadn't jumped on this woman with flowers and proclamations of love, but glancing at said shaman, saw that he was practically dead on his feet, his hair hanging limp at his shoulders. Looking at the group, Ren realized the only ones seemingly unaffected by the long day were Yoh and Hao.

"We do have some rooms available, so right this way," the woman said, gesturing them down a hallway. The group followed as she opened a door on the left. "The girls can have the Lilac Room, let me know if you need any more towels."

"Thank you," Anna said, leading the girls into the purple room.

The boys followed the woman down hall until she opened a door on the right. "This here is the Sunset Room. I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Thank you," Yoh said as the group marched in and immediately made themselves at home.

"Yoh," Hao said, hovering next to the door with his brother as he closed it.

"It's okay," Yoh said. "I don't think she's a bad person."

Hao sighed, shaking his head before turning to see the group sprawled around the room. Faust and Horohoro had already collapsed onto different beds, sound asleep. Ryu and Chocolove were by the bathroom door, arguing over who was going to use it first as Lyserg slipped past them. The two shut up when they heard the bathroom lock click, then proceeded to pound on the door, demanding entrance. Ren was sitting in a lounge chair by the window, flipping through a magazine. Manta was on the matching lounge chair, computer open and typing furiously.

Yoh yawned, stretching his arms upwards. "I'm going to get some sleep," he said, pulling his headphones over his ears and climbing onto the top bunk of one of the sets of bunk beds in the room. Left with nothing else to do, Hao climbed into the bottom bunk, realizing how tired he was when he did so. It wasn't very long until everyone else followed suit as well.

The girl's room went to bed relatively as fast as the boys, although with much less arguing and noise, and much more time in the bathroom and soon silence fell on the bed and breakfast.

The moon was more than half way across the sky when Hao first heard it. Sobbing, very faint and coming from somewhere down the hallway. Hao sat up quickly and regretted it when he smacked his head on the top bunk. Rubbing at the sore spot, he crawled out of bed. He glanced up to where he was sure Yoh would be, only to find the top bunk empty.

"Whas going on?" Horohoro asked, falling to the ground with a thump.

"Shu' up, tryin' to sleep," Ren grumbled, before he too heard the sobbing. He sat up ramrod straight, turning his gaze towards Hao. "What is that?"

Hao shrugged, and ignoring the others as they all woke up and pulled themselves out of bed, headed to the door and cracked it open, peaking out.

"Where's Yoh?" Horohoro asked, sliding behind Hao and peaking out the door as well.

"Who's crying?" Faust asked.

"Shhh," Ren said, also peeking out the door. "Let's go."

The group proceeded down the hallway and the door to the Lilac Room opened as they passed.

"What are you doing?" Anna asked.

"Someone's crying," Manta seemed to be the only one who paid attention to Anna.

Anna scowled. "Well, keep it down, some of us are trying to sleep."

Manta nodded before following the others down the hall, the door to the Lilac Room closing behind them with a soft click. They crept past the reception desk where they had checked in, and followed the sound to another closed door. Pressing their ears against it, they held their breaths.

However, the combined weight of the group caused the door to swing open, spilling the shamans inside. Immediately following this, the sobbing stopped.

The group looked up to find the woman who had checked them in standing there, or well, floating there. Her image flickered slightly and it all fell into place for those who were a little slow on the uptake. Like the spirits from so long ago who had given them a ride and invited them to stay and play with them, this woman, too, was a spirit. Only she wasn't playing this time.

No.

She was holding a gun, and aiming it right at Yoh's head.


	41. Chapter 41

_Here's the next part! I had a really hard time with it, so I hope it makes sense. _

_Want to send a special thanks to all those who have reviewed, favortied, and followed this story! You make it worth while to continue it! Thanks!Q  
_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King!  
_

No, she was holding a gun, and aiming it right at Yoh's head.

**Chapter 41: Nanna**

There was only one thought running through Hao head as he took in the sight before him: _Good person my eye! She's threatening to kill him. _

Yoh glanced away from the spirit to stare wide eyed at his brother and friends. They all looked murderous at the situation they had walked in on and Yoh knew he needed to do something.

"Get out! Get out!" the woman screamed, hand waving the gun around shakily.

"Yeah, like that's going to happen," Ren said, glad he carried his halberd with him everywhere.

Hao was stilling staring in shock at the scene. His mind had moved from: _she is definitely not a good person,_ to _why doesn't Yoh look nervous?_ And it was true. Yoh looked completely calm in the situation, if a little shocked at their entrance.

"Nanna, it's okay," Yoh spoke calmly and clearly. "They're my friends."

"Get them out!" the spirit screeched.

"Um oh, you guys think you could-"

"No," Horohoro said, cutting Yoh off.

"Well, you see," Yoh said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing slightly.

"Get out!" the spirit screamed before Yoh could continue. Hao felt his stomach drop as the sound of gunfire, multiple shots, reached his ears, his eyes locked on Yoh. Yoh, who was still standing there, just as calm and relaxed as ever as a bunch of bullets headed for his head.

"YOH!" eight different voices shouted at once. Yoh closed his eyes, still completely calm. Hao felt paralyzed, there was nothing he could do. It seemed as though time slowed down as the bullets entered his vision, still heading for his brother.

And then, the bullets simply breezed past Yoh, disappearing.

The woman, Nanna, turned towards Yoh, looking horrified.

Yoh smiled. "It's okay Nanna," he said again.

"Balder?" Nanna asked quietly, shocked. "But, how?"

Yoh smiled again. "Because it wasn't your fault."

Hao glanced at the others, at a complete loss as to what was going on. Catching sight of their faces, he learned that they, too, were confused. But the smile on Manta's face assured him that this was pretty normal for his brother.

"I'm so sorry," Nanna said. "I never meant for anything like that to happen. I didn't realize what I had walked in on."

"I know," Yoh said. "It's okay now."

"Oh, Balder, I've missed you so much."

The group watched, astonished, as a spirit in his mid twenties left Yoh, floating over to Nanna.

"And I've missed you," Balder said, taking the woman into his arms. "I think it's time for us to go now."

The woman nodded, a smile on her face as she embraced the man.

"Yoh, thank you," Balder said.

"Anytime," Yoh said. With that, the two spirits floated upwards and disappeared.

The group found themselves standing in the wreckage of the house, now that the spirit's powers where no longer making it look new. The sun was just rising on the horizon as the group turned to find the girls, standing a hallway's length away, looking around.

"Yoh, couldn't you have waited until after sunrise to fix it?" Anna asked, annoyed.

Yoh laughed. "Sorry Anna."

"What just happened?" Ryu asked for those still left in the dark.

"Nanna Milda was a troubled spirit," Anna said. "Couldn't you tell?"

Hao, of course, had guessed it when he first laid eyes on her, but had done nothing about it because Yoh said it was fine.

"Of course I knew that," Horohoro said, although he still looked confused.

"Her husband was murdered in front of her, a long time ago," Yoh said, looking sad. "She blamed herself for his death, and died of grief and guilt not long after."

"Not a good combination at death," Amidamaru, who had been watching Yoh the whole time, put in.

"So, she couldn't move on and continued to reenact her husband's death," Ren said, understanding dawning.

Yoh nodded.

"So, you showed her it wasn't her fault, and that her husband forgave her," Manta said. It always amazed him how often Yoh was able to fix things like this.

"Basically," Yoh said.

"Humph," Ren said. "I knew that." Hao rolled his eyes, although it surprised him that his brother was able to figure all that out.

"Alright, enough talking," Anna said before Horohoro finished opening his mouth in a retort to Ren's declaration. "We should get going."

Before anyone could ask how, Ryu was at the road, his oversoul in place. And this time, Billy showed up within minutes.


	42. Chapter 42

**A/N: **Well, it has been far too long since I've written anything for this story and I apologize. Part of me wanted to take the cowardly way out and just abandon it, but I can't bring myself to leave it incomplete. It will probably not end the way I originally planned when I embarked on writing this, but I promise I will finish it. And I thank you for being patient :) So here it is, the next chapter. This is written a little differently, and not much happens in it, but I'm easing myself slowly back into this story, and this is what came of that idea. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Shaman King

~~ShamanKing~~

**Chapter 42: Billy**

From the first time Billy had met the legendary hitchhiker, he had liked the man and his friends. Sure, they were a strange bunch of kids who seemed to work well together while at the same time bickering almost constantly, but Billy enjoyed their company. He had soon gotten used to the different people that traveled with Ryu, and the different sizes of his group, and Billy looked forward to being able to help his young friends out whenever they had need.

That didn't mean Billy didn't notice the strange goings on that seemed to surround the mysterious group. After all, he still remembered that day he had driven his truck off a cliff, and survived. It had been exhilarating, and completely terrifying. He also noticed that the kids seemed to talk to thin air quite often, that all of them carried weapons, and that they always seemed to be heading somewhere strange.

This was the largest group he had driven around yet, and most of them were crammed into the bed of his truck, arguing about each of them touching each other. He found it odd that he had dropped them off the night before at a perfectly suitable bed and breakfast, only to return to find the building looked as though it had been abandoned for years.

It was just another mark in the weirdness that surrounded the group, but when Ryu asked him to drop them off at yet another strange town in the middle of nowhere, Billy couldn't help but be slightly curious. After all, strange things always seemed to happen to the group, and it would make anyone curious as to why. So he waved goodbye to the legendary hitchhiker and his large group of friends and drove off. Once he was down the road, he before pulled over, parked his much loved truck at a rest stop not too far away, and got out.

He meandered his way back to the town he had dropped the group off at, deciding that it was about time he learned exactly what was going on.

He heard the noisy group before he saw them, and deciding he would rather not deal with them noticing him, Billy went into 'stealth mode'. He snuck around the corner, getting a good look at the legendary hitchhiker and his friends, and, keeping to the shadows, he followed them.

They didn't seem to do much. Most of their day was taken up with the bickering that Billy had gotten so used to as they wandered seemingly aimless down the streets. They occasional stopped at the random stalls along the way, trying on sunglass or hats, making jokes and laughing. At one point the scary blond girl made the boy with the orange headphones (Billy believed his name was Yoh) buy her a keychain souvenir.

They sat for dinner at a café and Billy took up residence at the restaurant across the street to keep tabs on them.

They ate a _ton_, that was for sure. Billy wondered where they put it all as he ate his pasta and garlic bread, which was very good. Once they were done, they headed down the street once more and Billy followed, feeling very full after his own meal.

At one point, the boy with the long hair, the one that looked like Yoh, turned around and Billy thought he had been caught out. But then Yoh said something to him, patted him on the shoulder, and both boys carried on their way.

"Huh," Billy grunted, watching as the group stopped outside a hotel. "Maybe nothing really weird is going on.

And that was when Billy heard a shout, and saw half the group go flying. Looking back to where the group had been, Billy was shocked to see a group of three facing Ryu, Yoh, and the others. The new group consisted of two rather large, muscled, bald men in black tank tops, and a girl with spikey black hair and so much eyeliner around her eyes she looked like a raccoon.

And all three were holding deadly looking weapons.

Billy wondered if he should get the police. He didn't want to see his friends hurt, but that train of thought was put to rest as his friends each drew their weapons out.

Billy watched, wide-eyed, as a strange glow seemed to surround all the weapons, and the groups in general.

"No way," he breathed, watching as a fight broke out.

The group who had attacked his friends worked well together, attacking and retreating in tandem, and at first Billy was worried.

But then he realized that that group wasn't the only one that worked well together. He watched as his friends also worked together, attacking in waves and causing unimaginable things to happen, such as a hail of ice, a storm of fire, and a whole lot of pointy things erupting from the ground.

There were several instances where Billy had to duck suddenly to avoid being skewered by an iron spike thrown by the attacking girl, or dodge as a scrying crystal came flying his way, piloted by what looked like a fairy. Billy shook his head at that and rubbed his eyes.

After what seemed like minutes of watching the intense fight, but what Billy later realized had actually been two hours, the legendary hitchhiker and his friends managed to chase their attackers away.

It was obvious none of them had gotten away unscathed, but even from a hidden distance Billy could make out the manic glint of battle in their eyes, and it frightened him.

He watched them retreat into the hotel's interior before shaking his head. Maybe he _didn't_ want to know what was going on with them after all.

That decided, Billy made his own retreat back to the safety of his truck.

And when the legendary hitchhiker once again summoned him, Billy picked them up with a smile, his eyes conveniently ignoring the multitude of bandages that covered the group, and gladly dropped them off at the next random town without a thought as to why they were there.

After all, some things were better left unknown.


	43. Chapter 43

**A/N: **Hey all, what's up? :) here's the next chapter - I am making a goal to finish this fic soon, I hate leaving things undone! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Shaman King

~ShamanKing~

**Chapter 43: Oregon**

"Okay, Lyserg," Anna said, looking around the small town Billy had left them in. "We're in Oregon, where to now?"

Lyserg looked around the small town. "I don't know." The group stood on the side of the road, looking up and down the street, hoping some clue would reveal itself to them. "Why are you asking me?"

"Because you can scry," Anna said dryly.

"Oh," Lyserg said, pulling out his map of America and glancing at it before looking back up at Anna warily. "Well, it'll work better if we had a more detailed map of this area."

"Got one," Manta said, running back up to the group, Opacho at his side.

"When did you two leave?" Horohoro asked.

"Ten minutes past," Opacho said. "Opacho went with Manta to find map."

"Oh," everyone said. No one had noticed that their two shortest companions had even run off. Hao glanced between Manta and Opacho, before looking at his brother with a raised eyebrow. Yoh grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, Lyserg, get to it," Anna finally said, breaking the silence.

"Right," Lyserg said, taking the map from Manta. "Thank you. Morphine!"

Everyone watched as the little fairy zoomed around the state map before dropping the crystal on an area about fifty miles from the town they were in.

"That's where she's at?" Hao asked, leaning closer to the map as if it would explain everything.

Lyserg nodded.

"Right, let's go," Hao said.

"Hao," Yoh said. "It would be best if we stopped here for the night. It's getting dark and we need to rest."

Hao wanted to argue that they needed to hurry, but he knew Yoh was right. He could see the exhaustion in his brother's eyes, as well as everyone else's and he himself felt as though he could sleep for a week. Those shamans that had attacked them in the last town had certainly left a mark (although they were nothing they couldn't handle) and everyone was still recovering. If they left now and got into another fight…Well, Hao didn't think it would be a good idea, no matter how much he wanted to see Ayamae.

"Yoh," Anna said, standing at a corner shop that sold trinkets. "I want this." She held up a little silver skeleton keychain with red eyes.

"Don't you already have one exactly like-Yeah, okay," Yoh said, hurrying over to get his fiancé the keychain as the rest of the group laughed.

The group settled into their rooms for the night, all the girls humming about getting warm showers as the guys fought over who would sleep where and who was sharing what room. Unsurprisingly, Hao and Yoh were selected to share a queen size bed in the same room as Ren and Horohoro, who did not look happy about sharing a bed.

"You should go talk to her," Hao said, joining his brother out on the tiny hotel balcony as Ren and Horohoro fought over what they wanted to watch on T.V.

"Who?" Yoh asked, although he was sure he knew.

Hao rolled his eyes. "Anna, of course. You two haven't had a minute alone for quite some time."

Yoh smiled, then winced as a shower of icicles pounded against the sliding glass door. He figured it was lucky the glass didn't break, they couldn't afford to pay for damages. "I can't leave you with them," Yoh said, gesturing to his fighting friends.

"I won't kill them," Hao said, rolling his eyes.

Yoh smiled. "It's not that. It's just no fun to be in the middle of them."

Hao laughed. "I can deal with it. Go, spend time with your girl."

Yoh nodded before surprising Hao and giving him a hug. Hao's eyes widened, (he still wasn't used to having a brother) before returning the hug.

"We'll get her back," Yoh whispered. For some reason Hao knew that when Yoh said it, it was true.

"I know," Hao said. "Now get going. And _no_ spending the night. I can only last for so long with those two."

Hao gave Yoh a shove and Yoh disappeared back into the room, dodged a swipe of Ren's sword that was aimed at Horohoro, and slipped into the hallway.

Yoh knocked softly on Anna's door. Jun answered, took one look at Yoh, and excused herself from the room, dragging a confused Opacho behind her. Yoh walked into the room and found Anna lying on her stomach, flipping through the T.V. channels.

"Anna," Yoh said.

Anna glanced up, then looked around the room, realizing her roommates had disappeared. "Yoh."

Yoh smiled. Anyone who didn't know Anna would assume she didn't want him around, but Anna sat up and slid over on the bed, a silent invitation. Yoh sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head and inhaling her scent: lemon soap tonight.

Anna relaxed against Yoh's chest, closing her eyes and listening to the thrumming of his heart. She was worried about him, although she would never admit it. What they were facing was more dangerous than a possessed Hao, and, dare she think it, more serious that Yoh becoming Shaman King. And she was worried that all of them might not make it out alive.

She knew Yoh would, of course. Yoh always would. And while the thought that one of the others wouldn't was hard for her (though she would NEVER admit it) she knew that it would practically destroy Yoh, because he was so close with all of them.

Anna wasn't sure how long they sat, the T.V. mumbling in the background as they held each other, but finally Yoh sighed, kissing the top of her head.

"It's getting late," Yoh whispered. Anna nodded. She knew they needed to rest, and her roommates couldn't hang out in the hall forever.

"Yoh," Anna said, pulling him down and kissing him on the lips. Pulling back she looked straight in his beautiful eyes. "Promise me you'll be okay."

Yoh hesitated and Anna knew he had been thinking the same things she had. But finally he smiled, kissing her on the lips as he hugged her close. "I promise," he whispered in her ear.

Anna sighed as she watched him slip from the room and wondered if this would be the first promise he would ever break.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter! Sorry, it's kinda short and there's not a lot happening in it, but I promise the action will pick back up soon! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Shaman King

~~ShamanKing~~

**Chapter 44: Into the Woods**

"We've been at this for hours," Horohoro groaned, stepping another tree root. "Are we sure we're in the right place?"

Hao glared at him, but he was beginning to feel the same way. They had been wandering the forest Lyserg had scryed on his map with no sign of Ayamae, or anyone else for that matter.

"Don't worry," Yoh said. "I'm sure we'll find something soon. "

"I've forgotten how annoying it is when you're always so optimistic," Ren drawled.

"Why? America?" Ryu wailed at the trees.

"Yoh," Hao said, turning to his brother. "What if this was all, I don't know, something to lead us on a wild goose chase?"

"Then I'd say they weren't very smart," Anna said. All eyes turned to her before following her gaze.

"About time you noticed," Ayamae said. She was lounging on the branch of a tree at least fifteen feet off the ground, smiling sweetly at them, but her eyes were still pitch black. "You've only passed this spot five times in the past three hours. I was getting bored."

"Aya," Hao said, taking a step closer and looking up at her.

"Hmm," Ayamae flicked a glance at him as she used a Sai to clean under her nails. "Honestly, I'm surprised you've come this far trying to find me, what's the point?"

"The point is you're our friend," Yoh said, coming to stand next to his brother.

"Friend," Ayamae spat the word out like it had a bad taste. "Friendship is an illusion."

"No, it's not," Hao said.

"It is. You know, Hao," Aya said. "You once believed the same things. You could again. Leave these losers and come with me, we could finally be together."

Hao hesitated for a moment. He wanted nothing more than to be with Ayamae, and her voice sounded almost wistful at the idea. But this wasn't his Ayamae; this was someone cold and cruel, someone who didn't care one way or another. He couldn't stand that.

"No," Hao said. His friends smiled at him, stepping up beside him.

"Too bad," Ayamae said, and Yoh caught a flash of sadness cross her face before her blank mask was in place once more. "You are rather cute. I woulda had fun."

"Aya," Hao said, trying not to sound hurt that she had just blown him off that easily. "This isn't you. Snap out of it."

"How do you know this isn't me?" Ayamae asked, looking at the group in general.

"Because we know you," Anna said.

"We're your friends," Jun added as everyone nodded.

"Ha! You think you know me? You think a few measly weeks together makes us friends? No, this is who I am, this is who I've always been."

"I've known you longer than a few weeks," Anna said. "I've known you since we were kids."

"And I've known you longer than that," Hao said. "Aya, don't you remember me? Don't you remember the life we had together?"

Ayamae's mouth twitched and her face went blank for a moment. She heard a voice in the distance, screaming in her head as she stared at Hao. Her dark eyes lightened and the mask slipped. "I," she whispered. But then she blinked and her eyes were as dark as ever.

"You can't trick me," Ayamae said. "All you ever cared about was power."

"That's not true," Hao said.

Ayamae ignored him. "And now you are all here because there is a power greater than you and you don't like that. You've come to destroy it."

"That's not how it is," Ren said.

"Then do you deny you've come to destroy my king?" Ayamae asked.

"He's not your king," Horohoro called. "He's using you."

"Aya, please, come down," Hao asked.

"I'll come down," Ayamae said, laughing slightly hysterically. "If you can find me."

She disappeared into the trees, leaping from branch to branch until she had been swallowed up by the shadows.

"That sucked," Faust said after silence had reigned for a while.

"What do we do now?" Lyserg asked.

"We go deeper," Anna said. "Into the woods."


	45. Chapter 45

**A/N: **Alright! Here's the next chapter, with a little bit of action! At last. Anyways, thanks to all of those who have favorited, followed, and a special thanks to those who have reviewed. It makes writing that much more enjoyable.

And for you reviewers out there, I apologize if I never write back after a review, but I promise if you have a specific question or just want to pm me I will answer back as promptly as possible. I just don't really have the patience to answer reviews. It's sad, but true.

And now, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Shaman King

~~ShamanKing~~

_"We go deeper," Anna said. "Into the woods."_

**Chapter 45: Attack in the Night**

"Do you think we're going the right way?" Horohoro whispered to Ren.

"How should I know," Ren replied.

"Everything looks the same," Ryu whined as they walked on, getting thoroughly turned around in their hours of wandering.

"It's a forest. Forests are made of trees, mostly the same kind of trees. What do you expect?" Anna said.

"Anna-chan, it will be dark soon," Jun said when they stopped to look around. "Perhaps we should look for a place to camp."

Chocolove opened his mouth to make a joke, but stopped and sighed. He was too tired to joke right now, which was saying something.

Anna glanced at Hao and Yoh, who were a little ways ahead of the group, discussing something quietly. It was weird to see her fiancé so close with someone. Not that Yoh wasn't a friendly person, he was the friendliest, most laid back guy she had ever met, it was just that he usually didn't open up to anyone about things. Except her.

And now, it seemed, Hao. Anna would be lying if she said she wasn't jealous, but she was also happy for him, he needed someone he could talk to about things, he needed someone he was close to that wasn't just her. His shaman friends, like Ren and Horohoro and the others, they were good friends, best friends even, but they had never really been _close._

"You're right," Anna told Jun, she didn't want to stop looking, but it wouldn't do to get lost in the dark.

~~SK~~

Yoh and Hao were in an argument, keeping their voices down so those behind them couldn't hear anything.

"Yoh, we've got to keep looking, we can't just stop," Hao hissed.

"We _won't_," Yoh said. "But they need rest," here Yoh gestured back to their friends. "And we won't do any good getting lost in the dark."

"We've got flashlights," Hao said. "And it's not like we've been in any fights today."

"The flashlights won't last through the night," Yoh said. "And we may not have used any energy fighting, but we have been walking all day. You've got to remember that it's not just trained shamans with us. There's others we need to think about."

"Don't know why they had to come," Hao said. "They're just slowing us down."

"They're Aya-san's friends too," Yoh pointed out. "Listen, I know you want to find her, I do too. But we need to rest, we won't be doing any good exhausted."

Hao's shoulders slumped and he looked down. "It's just," Hao started. "I've already lost her once. To loose her again, I don't know what I'd do."

Yoh reached out, pulling his brother in for a quick hug. "We'll find her, I know it."

"And save her?" Hao asked, sounding so vulnerable just then that Yoh didn't know what to think.

"And save her," Yoh said, pulling away to smile at Hao.

Hao nodded. "Then we'd best find somewhere to settle for the night."

"Oh, there're caves right up there," Yoh said, waving ahead of them through the trees. "I saw them earlier when we were on that hill."

Hao shook his head, marveling at how observant his brother could be as Yoh turned to face their group.

"Hey!" Yoh called. "There's a cave up here we can camp out in."

~~SK~~

A full moon hung heavy in the sky as Ren poked at the dying coals of their fire. He had chosen the one am shift, and while he felt rather refreshed after his four hours of sleep, he couldn't wait until his hour was over and he could crawl back into his bedroll. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone.

He looked over at his sister, who was curled up next to BaiLong. Despite the fact that he was worried for her safety, he was glad she was with them. He missed the closeness they had had growing up, all the times they had spent together, learning to fight, defying their father, rescuing kittens.

A rustle sounded in the bushes outside their little cave, snapping Ren from his thoughts. He turned to peer into the moonlit forest, sensing something out there.

"Yoh," Ren said softly.

Yoh was awake instantly, Amidamaru by his side as he made he way quietly to Ren. Hao wasn't far behind, having woken to the sound of his brother's name.

Something leapt at them as they moved closer to the cave entrance, sword glowing in hand. Yoh raced forward to block the attack with his own spirit sword, being forced back several inches before holding his ground.

"Not bad, boy," the man that faced him growled out as he leapt backwards.

"He's strong," Yoh whispered, but Hao and Ren heard. Each held their own weapons as their companions woke, groggily asking what was wrong.

"Who are you?" Yoh asked, as eight more men stepped from the shadows.

"We are servants of the king and we've come to kill you," the first man said.

"Figured his little slut couldn't handle it, since she hasn't even tried so far," the second man said.

Hao snarled at the insult to Ayamae, racing forward to cross swords with the man. Fighting broke out as the shamans scrambled for their weapons to face off against their attackers. Anna and Jun took the ninth man and Manta darted here and there, often springing up unexpectedly to block an attack aimed at his friends.

For the most part, the pairs seemed evenly matched, with neither gaining the upper hand.

Tamao cried out, her weapon knocked flying from her hands after blocking an attack on Anna. Yoh turned to check she was okay and his opponent struck.

Yoh went flying, hitting the cave wall with a resounding crack and falling to the ground, loosing his grip on Spirit of Sword. His opponent approached slowly, grinning, as Amidamaru hovered beside Yoh, calling for him to wake up.

"Too easy," Yoh's opponent laughed. He prodded a toe at Yoh's cheek. Yoh's eyes were closed. There was a small trickled of blood running down the side of his face and he remained limp as the man removed his foot, watching Yoh's head hit the ground once more.

"YOH!" his friends called out, horrified. None of them could break away from their own opponents. None of them could make it over there to help.

"And now, I'll kill you," the man said, bringing his sword down towards the unconscious Yoh.

"NO!" everyone cried out, trying to run for Yoh, but their opponent stopped them.

~~SK~~

Yoh looked around. It was completely white where he was, almost blindingly so.

"Hello!" Yoh called, listening. There was no answer. Not even an echo.

Yoh stood for a minute, thinking. Not knowing what else to do, he began to walk. He couldn't remember what he had been doing previously. He couldn't remember how he had come here. And he didn't like that.

"Yoh!" a distant, somewhat familiar voice called to him. It seemed to echo all around him, coming from the blinding whiteness itself.

"Hello!" Yoh called again. "Who's there?"

Once again, no answer.

Yoh sighed, glancing around, but he was still surrounded by darkness.

"Yoh," a voice said softly. Yoh whirled around, coming face to face with Ayamae. She smiled crookedly at him, looking a little sad.

"Aya," Yoh breathed.

Ayamae reached out and brushed a hand against the side of Yoh's face. Pain flared briefly and he remembered getting thrown into a wall, the fight, his friends needed him! And then the pain was gone completely.

"Relax," Ayamae said.

"But," Yoh began. "What happened? Where are we?"

"In your mind, I suppose," Ayamae said. "I think you know what happened."

Yoh nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to remind you," Ayamae said.

"Remind me of what?"

"Yoh, wake up!" the other voice, Yoh recognized it now as Amidamaru's, echoed around them.

"Aya-san, remind me of what?" Yoh said. The place was darkening around, fading away as his conscious mind stirred.

"Of what you can do," Ayamae said.

"What? I don't understand!"

"I think you do," Ayamae said. She brushed a hand down Yoh's main sword arm, trailing white fire. "Go," she whispered. "Your friends need you."

And everything slipped into darkness.

~~SK~~

"Yoh! Wake up!" Amidamaru shouted as the sword drew nearer his friend. He was not ready to have Yoh join him in spirithood.

"I win," the man grinned triumphantly.

"I won't let you," Manta said, appearing next to the man as if by magic. The sword came within an inch of Yoh's unprotected chest when a giant hammer slammed into it's owner. The man and his sword, which was still clutched tightly in his hands, went flying to smack into a wall of his own. Manta didn't wait to watch and see if he was out, instead he turned to his friend.

He had to admit he had been a bit bitter towards Yoh lately, which maybe wasn't entirely fair. It was mainly because Yoh had been spending so much time with Hao and didn't seem to have time for anyone else.

Thinking about it now, though, having been so close to losing Yoh, Manta realized that wasn't true. Yoh always had had time for him, and for everyone else. So what if he was spending a little extra getting to know his brother?

Manta knelt next to Yoh, touching his cheek. Yoh stirred at the gentle touch and Manta smiled, relieved.

Yoh glanced at Manta, then towards the man crumpled against the opposite wall of the cage. He grinned crookedly at his best friend.

"Thanks, Manta," he said, rubbing his head. Blood was drying down the side of his face, but the cut and associate bump, were gone, as was the pain. _Interesting_, Yoh thought.

Manta grinned. "Anytime," he said. "Let's just not make it a habit."

Yoh grinned back at him, rising to his feet and calling on Amidamaru once more as his opponent stirred and gathered his feet under him as well.

"And thank you, Amidamaru, for waking me up," Yoh said. Amidamaru nodded.

Manta raced off to help Anna and Jun, who were guarding Pirika, Tamao, and Opacho (all three of whom were doing what they could, although they were not very talented fighters).

"Having fun?" Chocolove asked Ren as they fought back to back at one point.

"Aren't you?" Ren replied, before chasing his opponent off.

"Good exercise, eh?" Ryu said conversationally to Faust as they battled side by side.

"It will keep us young," Faust replied, spinning around to block an attack aimed at Ryu while Ryu blocked one aimed at Faust.

"I am young," Ryu grinned as they danced in a circle, their attackers circling them.

"This wasn't my idea of a restful night," Horohoro complained as he stumbled and knocked into Lyserg.

Lyserg steadied him. "You actually expected a restful night?" he asked, grinning.

Horohoro laughed. "Not really."

They were all out in the open now, the cave abandoned in favor of more room to maneuver. The full moon shone down on them, painting the scene silver.

Yoh, recovered from his momentary black out, seemed to have overcome his previous struggle against the first man and was now pressing the man back. The man's eyes widened in shock and outrage as he attempted to find an opening to attack Yoh and couldn't.

Slowly, the shamans forced their attackers back, until all nine were gathered in a group, surrounded by the friends.

"Where are they?" Hao snarled, holding his sword to the neck of his opponent.

"We'll never tell you!" the man spat.

"I would really rethink that," Yoh said, voice calm and friendly. He held his sword almost nonchalantly at his opponent's throat, though it was obvious his opponent couldn't move for fear of it. "You don't want to make any of them mad. Especially Anna."

Anna had circled around to stand next to Yoh and was surreptitiously checking him over to assure herself he was okay, but as he said her name she turned her icy glare on the men. One of them met her glare briefly, before breaking eye contact and looking down.

"So, it might be best if you just told us," Yoh continued in his lighthearted manner. He couldn't explain it, but he felt different after that brief encounter with Ayamae. He wondered if that was what she had meant, but wasn't sure. "If you don't mind. Please?"

Yoh's friends smiled at that. Go figure Yoh would try to talk nice about this after these men had just tried to kill him.

"He's the only one that's going to ask nicely," Ren growled.

"The rest of us aren't so patient," Horohoro added.

"The-they're not far from here," one man, he looked like the youngest, stuttered out.

"Quiet Henry!" snapped their leader.

"No," Henry said. "I don't want to do this anymore. It's wrong."

"You're a traitor," spat one of his companions.

"Ah ah ah," Lyserg said, moving to intercept the man as he moved angrily towards Henry.

"They are South of here," Henry continued before turning and fleeing. Chocolove and Faust stepped aside, letting him through as he disappeared into the darkness.

"You can't escape our king!" the leader called after him, shutting up abruptly as Yoh's sword touched his neck.

"Now, what do we do with the rest of them?" Ryu asked thoughtfully.

Anna's eyes gleamed.


	46. Chapter 46

**A/N: **Alright, new chapter! I had a hard time figuring out how I wanted to do this next part, so sorry this chapter is so short, I've broken up the fighting scenes a little.

Enjoy! Thanks to all my reviewers, readers, followers, and favoriters! You are amazing!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Shaman King.

~~ShamanKing~~

**Chapter 46: The Start**

"That was cruel, Anna," Yoh said as their group headed south.

"They tried to kill us, Yoh," Ren pointed out. He had no problems with what was done.

"I know, but," Yoh said, before pausing and getting a good look at everyone's faces. They certainly weren't worried about the state they had left the men behind in. And of course they weren't, those men had almost killed Yoh.

"They'll be fine," Anna growled, sounding like she wished they wouldn't be.

Horohoro grinned, thinking of the men, now hanging upside down, tied at the ankles, over a cliff face. "Just fine," he said.

Chuckles broke out at that. Yoh shook his head, but he was smiling.

"Shhh," Hao called after they walked for several more minutes. "There's someone up ahead."

"Someone behind you too," a new voice said. They whirled around to face the new speaker.

"Aya," Hao whispered.

"Took you all long enough to get here," she said, sounding bored. "Don't tell me you had trouble with those idiots?"

"You sent those men?" Faust asked, anger bubbling up at that. He had examined Yoh as the others strung up their attackers and while he couldn't find any injury to mark where Yoh had struck his head, he still didn't like the fact that his friend had hit his head hard enough to knock him unconscious and cause it to bleed.

Ayamae huffed. "No, they went against our orders and attacked you. _I _wanted you well rested, its no fun if you aren't at the top of your game, but good help is so hard to find these days. But enough of the chit chat. You found me, hooray. I'm here, on the ground like I said I would be. Now, what is it you want?"

"You're willing to talk?" Ren asked, skeptical.

"No," Ayamae said. Quick as a flash she leapt from the rock on which she had perch, Sais flashing in her hands. Ryu managed to get his guard up just in time to avoid being slashed to pieces, but before he could counter, she was gone, heading straight for Anna.

"Anna!" Yoh called, worried.

Anna held her prayer beads, which she had managed to lash around Ayamae's wrists, and was holding the attack off.

"Aya-chan," Anna whispered. "This isn't you. Please, snap out of it."

"This _is_ me," Ayamae growled, yanking at the beads that bound her.

"No, it's not," Anna said, managing to keep hold. She locked eyes with Ayamae, her dark ones meeting the black of Ayamae's.

Ayamae hesitated a moment, memories of her childhood friend flashing in her mind's eyes. Anna was a friend. A close friend.

_No,_ another part of her mind argued. _None of them are friends. Friendship is a lie._

"You don't know me," Ayamae said, voice icy. She twisted, gripping the beads and sending them both spinning in the air. Beads flew everywhere as the necklace broke and Anna fell to the ground, stunned. Ayamae landed on her feet in front of Anna, Sais at the ready. For a horrifying minute, everyone realized that Ayamae could kill Anna right then.

But Ayamae turned instead, and faced the others. Yoh, glancing between Ayamae and Anna, realized why. There was still some of the old Ayamae left, fighting against whatever had been done to her to poison her mind.

And that portion that was fighting wasn't going to let her kill any of them.

Jun, Pirika, Tamao, and Manta gathered around Anna, taking up defensive positions. Jun leaned down and helped Anna to her feet as they all backed away, knowing they had no place in this fight.

"Ready?" Yoh asked, looking at his friends. They had spent long hours training for this, training against Ayamae herself. It was time to see if it was enough.

"Ready," Ren, Horohoro, Faust, Ryu, Lyserg, and Chocolove confirmed as Hao nodded at his brother.

There wasn't more time for talk after that as Ayamae rushed them.


End file.
